Between 1995 and 2000, the prevalence of such cases has gone up by only one point, with just one in five children stricken by it

By Salma Khalik
HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

HONGKONG - A Singapore paediatrician yesterday released figures that show the asthma problem among children is being contained, with only one in five children being stricken by it.

However, Dr Lee Bee Wah told The Straits Times that more could be done to reduce the number of children dying and being hospitalised by the debilitating illness.

Asthma kills about 100 people each year and causes around 1,000 children to land in hospital for three to five days at a stretch each time they get a severe attack.

There is an economic price in these figures, she said, and this impact will be probed in a study that is likely to start this year.

However, she stressed that the situation is still far from the high levels experienced in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where almost 40 per cent of children suffer from asthma.

Dr Lee disclosed the Singapore situation - part of a worldwide study involving 750,000 children aged six to seven and 13 to 14 in 56 countries - after she chaired a session at a two-day conference here on allergies.

About 350 delegates from about 20 countries are attending the meeting, which opened last Saturday. The 30 speakers touched on a wide range of allergies, from hay fever to fatal skin rashes.

But the main focus was on asthma in children, a problem of great concern the world over.

Dr Lee, who chaired one session, told The Straits Times that two asthma studies - in 1994/95 and 2000 - included more than 6,000 students in Singapore.

During this period, the prevalence of asthma cases has gone up by only one point, to 21 per cent or 150,000 children.

What's more heartening, she said, is that only 12 per cent had an attack in the preceding year.

Dr Lee, who is also president of the Asthma Association, said the figures suggest the disease is better controlled today.

'If we can improve asthma control, which we potentially can, then we can reduce hospitalisation and emergency visits.

'The cost of controlling asthma is not cheap, but it is far lower than the cost of hospitalisation,' she said.

Asthma attacks can be largely prevented with regular medication. The most common is a low-dose steroid, but there are newer non-steroid drugs on the market too.

Besides being a major cause of school absenteeism, asthma is the No 2 cause of Singapore children landing in hospital, after accidents and injuries.

'Singapore's hospitalisation rate is still relatively high compared to Western countries,' she said of the 1,000 cases seen here each year.

Many of the deaths can be prevented too, she said.

But not everyone facing a severe attack seeks immediate medical treatment, which includes being given steroids and oxygen.

Those who take regular medication to control their asthma are less likely to get a severe attack, although it may happen to a small high-risk group.

The Asthma Association hopes to educate people on this fact.

A study done more than 10 years ago shows that asthma accounts for about 1 per cent of Singapore's health-care budget, which today stands at $4 billion. p> Excluded are the indirect costs, such as parents taking time from work to look after their sick children.

This, among other things, will emerge from the study on its economic impact, said Dr Lee.

'We can then formulate policies more accurately,' she added.