Preventing asthma

The World Health Organization estimates that asthma affects 300 million people worldwide. It is the most common long-term disease among children.

Sleeping child

The prevalence of asthma varies widely from country to country; affluent countries such as the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand have the highest incidence.

Asthma often arises early in childhood, particularly in children who have a family history of asthma and allergies.

Therefore, researchers investigating the causes and prevention of asthma often focus on maternal exposures and behaviours and children’s environment and lifestyle.

Asthma UK-funded research has substantially increased our understanding of who develops asthma and why, information that is vital in order to provide people with tailored advice and support to reduce their risk, or lessen their symptoms.

Current Asthma UK studies include a London project to discover if vitamin D supplements in pregnancy can reduce the asthma and allergy risk of the unborn child, and an investigation into whether certain infections in childhood can actually prevent asthma.

There is also evidence to suggest that the severity of a person’s symptoms can be profoundly affected by their exposure to fungal spores.

Asthma UK is funding a project in Leicester to determine how common it is for people with severe asthma to have fungal spores in their airways, and if so, whether they contribute to the severity of their symptoms.

Related research projects

Who benefits?

  • Image of Lloyd Price
    Lloyd, 12, has severe, uncontrollable asthma - which can be very quickly become life-threatening. He had to miss 27 days of school in 2007 and was in intensive care twice that year.