Prevalence of asthma in India 2021
Chronic respiratory conditions account for a massive health burden in India, at around 93 million, out of which nearly 37 million are asthmatics. India contributes to 11.1 per cent of the global asthma burden and accounts for over 42 per cent of related deaths making it the asthma capital of the world.
Paediatric asthma cases and link with Covid-19
“Before the pandemic started, over 60% of children who visited a paediatrician in India did so for respiratory symptoms and a large proportion of these were for asthma. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of childhood asthmatics visiting a paediatrician plummeted by over 50 – 60%. This came as a surprise for doctors, as it was feared that the SARS COV-2 virus, being a respiratory predominant virus, would cause worsening of asthma. The shocking reduction in the number of paediatric asthma cases visiting a healthcare facility actually came as a boon
- There was a remarkable change worldwide and a similar trend was noted in India
- Lockdown restrictions, schools being shut for in-person classes and social distancing have had important implications for movement and play behaviours, limiting children’s physical activity and reducing exposure to environmental triggers.
- The European Respiratory Journal has also published observations from studies in Singapore, where researchers witnessed a sustained reduction in asthma admissions with PCR-proven respiratory viral infections (RVIs) that coincided with the widespread adoption of public health measures during the pandemic.
- Reduced number of motor vehicles on the road and shutting down of industries, which were major sources of air pollution in cities and towns, must have also contributed by reducing personal exposures to air pollution.
- Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children and according to WHO, it affected an estimated 262 million people in 2019 and caused 4.61 lakh deaths.
- Inflammation and narrowing of the small airways in the lungs cause asthma symptoms which can be a combination of cough, wheeze, and shortness of breath and chest tightness. Symptoms of asthma are intermittent and are often worse at night or during exercise.
- According to the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report, there are an estimated 3.4 crore asthmatics in India, of which around 25% are children.
- Although India has 11% of global asthma cases, the country accounts for a shocking 42% of all global asthma deaths.
- According to the expert, a potential explanation for why asthma in children plummeted during the Covid-19 pandemic is that children did not attend school and stayed at home due to the pandemic and lockdown.
- As a result, there were no respiratory virus infections among children, which would have otherwise happened had the children been going to school.
- On an average, a child develops between two to five respiratory viral infections during a year and this becomes the reason for exacerbations among children suffering with asthma.
- The fact that asthma exacerbations plummeted among children suggests that school-related respiratory viral infections were a major cause of asthma exacerbations in children. Similar observations have been made in other parts of the world.
- Asthma is a huge and growing problem in India that demands attention by policy makers and healthcare providers. Wearing a mask can be a very useful protective measure against asthma.
- Children wearing masks when they attend school even after the pandemic is over will likely be the most effective solution to reduce asthma suffering and exacerbations.
- Wearing a mask not only protects against the Covid-19 virus, but will also protect against catching other respiratory viruses.
- Protection from ambient air pollution will be an added advantage for wearing masks. “We also need to continue with this behaviour of hand hygiene even after the pandemic is over.
