There are 300 million asthma sufferers in the world and that figure is expected to jump to 400 million in 20 years, medical experts said Tuesday.
In many countries, the prevalence of asthma is rising 20 percent to 50 percent every 10 years, said specialists at the 4th World Asthma Meeting in Bangkok.
Speaking at a news conference, asthma specialists said the disease needs greater attention because of its high human and economic costs.
The newly collected data was contained in a report released by the World Health Organization and the Global Initiative for Asthma to coincide with the meeting.
The report, "The Global Burden of Asthma," warned that "the rate of asthma increases as communities adopt Western lifestyles and become urbanized." It said asthma is on the increase among adults as well as children.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/17/health/main600653.shtml