Bill for asthma care exceeds £1bn
Asthma care costs UK at least £1.1bn each year, study shows.
The findings are the result of the most comprehensive study of the state of asthma in UK to date.
Death rate
Researchers found that at least three people die each day from asthma attacks.
Experts say the majority of asthma deaths are preventable and greater focus on basic care is needed to cut the rates of severe attacks.
Health records
Researchers used information from national health surveys and anonymised administrative, health and social care records to build a picture of asthma in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The UK-wide team, led by the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research at The University of Edinburgh, found that there were around 6.4 million GP and nurse consultations for asthma each year.
More than 270 people are admitted to hospital each day because of asthma attacks.
Even with conservative assumptions, we find almost 100,000 people are admitted to hospital and there are at least 1000 deaths from asthma each year in the UK. This is unacceptable for a condition that, for most people, can be managed effectively with the right support from their GP. Greater focus on primary care is needed if we are to cut rates of severe asthma attacks, hospitalisations and deaths.
Annual cost
Of the £1.1bn cost of treating asthma in the UK, at least £666 million is spent on prescription costs each year.
Other costs include £160m on GP consultations, £143m on disability claims and £137m on hospital care.
Our findings offer the first comprehensive estimates of the burden of asthma in all the four nations of the UK.
Underestimate
Researchers say their figures are likely to be substantial underestimates because they did not take into account people for whom asthma was not their main illness.
They say their findings confirm that the UK has one of the highest burdens of asthma in the world. More than 18 million people are treated for the condition at some stage in their lifetime.
The study is published in BMC Medicine journal and was funded by Asthma UK, with additional funding from Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit and The Farr Institute.
We strongly believe new technologies such as smart inhalers are the likely game changer that could reduce asthma attacks and ease the burden on the NHS.