Disease management vital for asthma patients

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Asthma patients may think that their condition restricts them from physical exercise, but if they manage their disease with medication they can lead a normal life, health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said.
A recent Asia-Pacific study showed that in Malaysia, like in China, more than 50% of children had to miss school while 23% of adults missed work because of asthma.
The study said Asia-Pacific recorded a higher rate of absence from work and school due to asthma, with the disease impacting highly on daily activities due to poor asthma control, compared with in the United States or Europe.
It showed that asthma management in the region was below the international recommended level of care.
“The disease becomes a burden to the country, families and the patients. But while it is a chronic and lifelong disease, it is not untreatable. It won’t go away, so sufferers just have to cope with it.
“Furthermore, treatment has evolved and there is now better medication that gives patients a better quality of life. When you control the disease, you can lead a normal life,” Dr Ismail said at a jogathon held in conjunction with the Fifth World Asthma Day yesterday.
Co-organised by the Asthma Council Malaysia, Lung Foundation of Malaysia and Malaysian Thoracic Society, with support from GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, the event saw participation by 1,400 asthma patients and others.
Dr Ismail said the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood showed that 8% to 10% of children in Malaysia suffered from asthma while for adults it was 6%.
Asthma Council Malaysia's Dr Norzila Mohamed Zainudin said asthma was an urban disease and its prevalence in countries such as Australia, United States and Britain was higher at between 15% and 20% of the population.
Meanwhile, Dr Ismail said the plan for a biotech company that developed artificial blood to invest in Malaysia was an exciting idea that might provide the country more innovative ways of meeting its blood supply needs.