Abstract
Asthma is a disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation, leading to intermittent symptoms of wheeze, dyspnea, cough and chest tightness in combination with variable expiratory airway obstruction. Clinical diagnosis is usually established based on the presence of symptoms and documented variability in expiratory airflow limitation as measured by pulmonary function testing. Presently, asthma is a major chronic disease affecting approximately 334 million people worldwide. The epidemic spares no age group, race or ethnicity; however ethnicity and socioeconomic status do influence the prevalence, morbidity and mortality of asthma in the United States and various countries throughout the world. Moreover, asthma places a huge burden at the societal, financial and health-care levels of multiple nations.
Highlights
Asthma is a disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation, leading to intermittent symptoms of wheeze, dyspnea, cough and chest tightness in combination with variable expiratory airway obstruction [1]. Clinical diagnosis is usually established based on the presence of symptoms and documented variability in expiratory airflow limitation as measured by pulmonary function testing [2]
Asthma is more common in children and the leading cause of chronic airway disease; new onset disease can occur at any age [2, 8,9]
As documented by World Health Organization (WHO)’s Study on Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE), there is substantial under-diagnosis of asthma in some less developed countries like India and Mexico, a factor that may potentially explain lower prevalence rates compared to more developed nations [23]
Summary
Asthma is a disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation, leading to intermittent symptoms of wheeze, dyspnea, cough and chest tightness in combination with variable expiratory airway obstruction. Clinical diagnosis is usually established based on the presence of symptoms and documented variability in expiratory airflow limitation as measured by pulmonary function testing. Asthma is a major chronic disease affecting approximately 334 million people worldwide. The epidemic spares no age group, race or ethnicity; ethnicity and socioeconomic status do influence the prevalence, morbidity and mortality of asthma in the United States and various countries throughout the world. Asthma places a huge burden at the societal, financial and health-care levels of multiple nations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
