Asthmatics failing to receive best care, finds survey
The vast majority of the six million people in Europe who suffer from severe asthma are not receiving the best possible care for their condition, and 1.5 million of them live in the constant fear that their next attack could prove fatal, according to a new report from the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients Associations (EFA) published in the journal Allergy. The report, entitled 'The limitations of severe asthma: the results of a European survey', draws on information from 1,300 people with severe asthma living in France, Spain, Germany, Sweden and the UK. The research revealed that 90% of those with severe asthma are not receiving optimum care; 70% are unable to take part in physical activity; and one in five suffers a speech-limiting attack at least once a week. In total 30 million people in Europe have asthma, and it kills one person every hour in western Europe alone. The EFA believes that most of these deaths could be avoided with effective management of the disease. Asked what they expect from their governments, one in three said they wanted more money to be invested in research, while 16% wanted a ban on smoking in public places. In this respect, EFA welcomes the fact that the EU has made respiratory diseases and allergies a research policy under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). 'We are delighted by the European Union initiatives to prioritise respiratory research and by the steps taken towards enforcing people's legitimate right to breathe healthy air indoors,' said EFA Vice President Marianella Salapatas. 'Nevertheless, the results of 'The Limitations of Severe Asthma' confirm that levels of asthma care and control across Europe are not improving on the whole.' The editor of the journal Allergy describes the report as significant. 'This is the first report to provide a valuable qualitative assessment of how severe asthma affects people's quality of life and exposes the often inadequate standards of care provided across the continent,' he writes in a statement. 'The European Parliament's recent vote on the Seventh Framework Programme to ensure that research into respiratory health is prioritised is a significant step forward in the battle to improve the standard of care for people with severe asthma. Nevertheless, there remains a genuine and urgent need for further cooperation and collaboration between patients, health experts, NGOs [non-governmental organisations], research bodies and governments to share information and expertise and improve the quality of treatment and care for people with asthma in Europe and across the world,' he concludes.