GINA: The Global Initiative Against Asthma

The World Health Organization estimates that between 100 and 150 million people around the globe suffer from asthma and this number is rising. World wide, deaths from this condition have reached over 180,000 annually. Asthma is a public health problem for both developed and developing countries. It occurs in all age groups and all ethnic groups. However, it often starts in childhood. Indeed, asthma is the single most common chronic disease causing absence from school.

Why is asthma increasing?

The rapid rise of asthma around the world is one of the biggest mysteries in modern medicine. The most striking increases have occurred in Australia where about one-quarter of children are diagnosed with asthma. In the United States, the number of people with asthma has more than doubled to an estimated 17.3 million in 1998 from 6.7 million in 1980.

Research on this problem has focused on environmental allergens and viral infections in infants and young children. Ten years ago, scientists thought that diesel exhaust and other pollutants might be causing the asthma epidemic. However, they now believe that the picture is more complex. In addition to studies to examine the role of genetic factors in the development of asthma, researchers are looking at the immune system in early life.

World Asthma Day May 6, 2003

GINA will be collaborating with major global organizations, including Wonca, working toward asthma awareness and care (see "From the President" in this issue). The first World Asthma Day, in 1998, was celebrated in more than 35 countries in conjunction with the first World Asthma Meeting held in Barcelona. The next World Asthma day is set for May 6, 2003.

If you or your family medicine association wishes to participate in World Asthma Day, or for GINA reports that provide details of an effective asthma management program, visit the GINA home page at: www.ginasthma.com.