A recent report outlines the good and the bad news about asthma
Asthma is a common chronic condition among Australians, particularly children. In recent years, federal and state governments have responded to community and health professionals’ concerns by investing in strategies to improve asthma management.1 Coinciding with this, new pharmaceutical formulations have become available for managing asthma. The latest publication from the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Asthma in Australia 2005,2 provides a timely review of the good and the bad news about asthma over the past few years (Box).
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- 1. Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. National asthma action plan 1999–2002. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2001. Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pq-asthma-pubs-naap.htm (accessed Sep 2005).
- 2. Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring. Asthma in Australia 2005. AIHW Asthma series 2. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2005. Available at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10158 (accessed Sep 2005).
- 3. Masoli M, Fabian D, Holt S, Beasley R. Global burden for asthma. Global Initiative for Asthma, 2004. Available at: http://www.ginasthma.com (accessed Sep 2005).
- 4. Toelle BG, Marks GB. The ebb and flow of asthma. Thorax 2005; 60: 87-88.
- 5. Johnston NW, Johnston SL, Duncan JM, et al. The September epidemic of asthma exacerbations in children: a search for etiology. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2005; 115: 132-138.
- 6. Adams N, Bestall J, Jones P. Budesonide for chronic asthma in children and adults (Cochrane review). The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2003. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- 7. Adams N, Bestall J, Jones P. Inhaled fluticasone propionate for chronic asthma (Cochrane review). The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2005. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- 8. Powell H, Gibson PG. Inhaled corticosteroid doses in asthma: an evidence-based approach. Med J Aust 2003; 178: 223-225. <MJA full text>
- 9. Greening A, Ind P, Northfield M, Shaw G, on behalf of Allen & Hanbury’s Ltd Study Group. Added salmeterol versus higher-dose corticosteroid in asthma patients with symptoms on existing inhaled corticosteroid. Lancet 1994; 344: 219-224.
- 10. Zwar NA, Comino EJ, Hasan I, Harris MF, on behalf of the Primary Health Care Research Network. General practitioner views on barriers and facilitators to implementation of the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan. Med J Aust 2005; 183: 64-67. <MJA full text>
- 11. Gibson PG, Coughlan J, Wilson A, et al. Self-management education and regular practitioner review for adults with asthma (Cochrane review). The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2002. Oxford: Update Software.
- 12. Wilson DH, Adams RJ, Appleton SL, et al. Prevalence of asthma and asthma action plans in South Australia: population surveys from 1990 to 2001. Med J Aust 2003; 178: 483-485. <MJA full text>
- 13. Goeman DP, Aroni RA, Sawyer SM, et al. Back for more: a qualitative study of emergency department reattendance for asthma. Med J Aust 2004; 180: 113-117. <MJA full text>
The Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring is a collaborating unit of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare funded as part of the Australian Government’s initiative to establish and maintain the Australian Monitoring System for Asthma. The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research receives grants from GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, and Guy Marks’s research group receives an allocation of this funding to support research studies in asthma and related diseases. Guy Marks has received unrestricted educational grants from GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca to attend scientific meetings, and has undertaken contract research (data analysis) on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline.