Nov 27 2007
Allergy Today
Over the past 30 years, allergic diseases have increased tremendously, most especially in industrialized countries. This upward trend continues today.
According to the WHO, asthma is the most common chronic disease of children, and has become the most common cause of hospitalization among 15-year old children and below.
In Europe, 1 in every 4 children is allergic, and 5 to 10% of adults have asthma. Based on the 1996 National Health Interview Survey, about 5.5% of the US population has asthma. However, death due to asthma is fairly rare, with about 180,000 cases reported annually worldwide.