Department of Internal Medicine, Krefting Research Centre, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Respir Res. 2009 Oct 12;10(1):94. doi: 10.1186/1465-9921-10-94.
Asthma prevalence has increased over the last fifty years, but the more recent changes have not been conclusively determined. Studies in children indicate that a plateau in the prevalence of asthma may have been reached, but this has not yet been confirmed in adults. Epidemiological studies have suggested that the prevalence of asthma in adults is approximately 7-10% in different parts of the western world. We have now performed a large-scale epidemiological evaluation of the prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms in adults between the ages of 16-75 in West Sweden. Thirty thousand randomly chosen individuals were sent a detailed questionnaire focusing on asthma and respiratory symptoms, as well possible risk factors. Sixty-two percent of the contacted individuals responded to the questionnaire. Asthma prevalence, defined as asthma diagnosed by a physician, was 8.3%. Moreover, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms was lower compared to previous studies. The most common respiratory symptom was any wheeze (16.6%) followed by sputum production (13.3%). In comparison with studies performed 18 years ago, the prevalence of asthma has not increased, and the prevalence of most respiratory symptoms has decreased. Therefore, our data argues that the continued increase in asthma prevalence that has been observed over the last half century is over.
哮喘的发病率在过去五十年中有所增加，但最近的变化尚未得到明确确定。儿童研究表明，哮喘的发病率可能已经达到了一个平台期，但这尚未在成年人中得到证实。流行病学研究表明，在西方世界的不同地区，成年人哮喘的发病率约为 7-10%。我们现在对瑞典西部 16-75 岁成年人的哮喘和呼吸症状的发病率进行了大规模的流行病学评估。我们随机选择了 3 万人，向他们发送了一份详细的问卷，重点关注哮喘和呼吸症状以及可能的危险因素。有 62%的被联系者回答了问卷。哮喘的发病率，即医生诊断的哮喘，为 8.3%。此外，与之前的研究相比，呼吸症状的发病率较低。最常见的呼吸症状是任何喘息（16.6%），其次是咳痰（13.3%）。与 18 年前进行的研究相比，哮喘的发病率没有增加，大多数呼吸症状的发病率也有所下降。因此，我们的数据表明，过去半个世纪观察到的哮喘发病率持续增加已经结束。
