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Asthma

Asthma is a common long-term condition that can affect people of all ages.

The risk of developing asthma is linked to genetics, but it can be linked to other causes, such as work place exposures. Asthma can begin in childhood but can also start in adulthood. It is a disease that causes inflammation in the airways causing symptoms such as wheeze, cough and breathing difficulties. It is often linked with allergies and many people experience it alongside other conditions such as hay fever.

“An open accessible resource based on global evidence containing reliable data is much needed in this post-covid era. Spreading true information is the best way to support physicians, scientists and patients to reduce burden of this treatable chronic airway disease.” Robab Breyer-Kohansal, Clinic Hietzing, Vienna, Austria.

Asthma in numbers

 

Total cases (prevalence)

approximately 5,651 cases per 100,000 population – approximately 56.2 million cases*

Deaths (mortality)

approximately 1 deaths per 100,000 population – approximately 16,800 deaths*

Years of healthy life lost (disability-adjusted life years, DALYs)

approximately 244 DALYs per 100,000 population – approximately 2.5 million DALYs*

Societal cost (monetised DALYs)

€78.6 billion is the estimated societal cost**

*in the WHO European Region in 2023
**the societal economic cost of respiratory disease is generated using DALYs and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, to give a cost of the healthy years of life lost to help guide decision-making around health interventions. Visit the methodology section to learn more about this calculation.

The charts below present data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD).  To find out more about how this data is put together, visit the methodology page. There are limitations to using GBD data and estimates need to be interpreted with caution. Data will be updated every 2 years and other sources may be provided to give an accurate representation of lung health in Europe.

All charts are freely available to download by clicking the three dots in the top right hand corner. Please reference Lung Facts when sharing.

There are so many people with asthma whose lives have been turned upside down by a condition that so many suffer from, yet there is not enough being done to change this. Understanding the data across countries will help identify trends and traits which might then lead to deeper understanding of this complex condition. Asthma statistics will not change until we implement consistent policy changes. We need comprehensive evidence-based strategies where everyone can work towards a set of goals in a cohesive manner.

Oliva Fulton, who has experience of living with asthma

This new data will provide the essential foundation for our advocacy, showing us the current situation in Europe. As a European community of patient organisations, together with the European Lung Health Group collaboration, we advocate for change to improve asthma care and prevention. Asthma is the biggest chronic disease in children but it is not seen as a priority as it should be. We need access to high quality asthma care for all with real-world evidence and patients’ priorities at the forefront of health research.

European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations President, Carla Jones

Additional sources

The Severe Asthma Index is a data-driven tool that enables countries to explore national variation and gaps in care in support of driving policy action to address the unmet needs of people with severe asthma.