Pollution ups asthma cases in city: Medicos

Medicos say the need of the hour is to control vehicular pollution and indoor pollution that put children at a greater risk of asthma.

While many cases were witnessed in urban areas, the spike in vehicular pollution even in rural areas has led to an increase in the number of cases being received by the city hospitals from rural and suburban areas. Experts added that number of patients with asthma, bronchial asthma and respiratory issues have almost doubled in the city.

As per a study done last month by the paediatrics and pulmonology departments of the Institute of Child Health, the prevalence of asthma is 4.5 per cent among school children in Chennai, who are in the age group of 6-17 years and belong to lower income group or lower middle-class families. 

“The prevalence increased by more than 13 per cent in past five years, with major symptoms being wheezing in the chest, sleep disturbance due to cough, and respiratory problems among all age groups. The increase in the number of cases is mainly due to increasing pollution due to industries, motor vehicles, traffic and smoking,” said Dr Satish Kumar, consultant paediatrician, Institute of Child Health.

Lifestyle related factors, too, have affected the prevalence of asthma in a span of five six years, say doctors.

“About 8-10 per cent of the children suffer from paediatric asthma. The incidence is on the increase due to consumption of junk foods, lack of exercise and not using proper medications for wheezy children with history of asthma in childhood,” says Dr R Narsimhan, consultant pulmonologist, Apollo Hospitals.

Most of the asthmatic can be effectively treated with inhalers. Awareness about the use of steroid inhalers from the day the diagnosis is made is vital to prevent these patients from progressing on to severe asthmatics.

But there is not much awareness on the regularity of the use of inhalers, particularly steroid inhalers, among the patients, added Dr Narsimhan.