Asthma most common disease

Press, 19 December 1986, Page 10

Asthma most common disease

By

ROBIN CHARTERIS

in London Asthma is now Britain's most common disease, affecting one child in 10. Almost 2170 people died of asthma last year. A reported two million suffer from it. The number of those affected and the death toll is increasing, says the Asthma Research Council. In giving figures, the council announced further grants of £lOO,OOO ($280,000) for research into all aspects of the problem, bringing its current backing for asthmabacked projects to more than £1 million ($2.8 million.) Among the latest grants are funding for a study of the relationship between virus infections in babies and the development of asthma. Other studies will look at why asthma attacks develop during sleep, and attempt to modify an asthmatic’s immunological response by the addition of certain foods such as those containing oily fish. A further study concerns asthma suffered by workers in the electronics industry who are exposed to certain materials used in soldering.