Macau recorded 2,515 patients with asthma last year, accounting for 0.4 percent of the total population at the end of that year, of which the age group between 60 and 74 years stood at the highest percentage of 25.6 percent, according to a statement by the Health Bureau (SSM) on Monday.
According to the statement, under the theme of “Asthma Care for All”, this year’s World Asthma Day, which took place yesterday, aimed to enhance the public’s understanding of the current situation of asthma, while raising the patients and the public’s awareness of asthma prevention and self-management.
World Asthma Day is an annual event designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the first Tuesday in May.
According to the WHO, the statement noted, about 262 million people worldwide had asthma in 2019, and 461,000 of them died of the disease, adding that most of the asthma deaths occurred in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, where patients were unable to control symptoms effectively and were likely unable to attend school and work, due to the lack of diagnostic and treatment capacity.
Asthma is a major chronic disease affecting both children and adults, the common symptoms of which include cough, chest tightness and difficulty breathing that often worsen at night or during exercise, and it is often difficult to find a single direct cause of asthma, the statement said, adding that family members that suffer from asthma are more likely to have closely related family members suffering from asthma themselves.
In addition, people with other allergies, such as eczema and rhinitis, or infants that are born prematurely, have a low birth weight and early exposure to tobacco smoke are also more likely to suffer from asthma, according to the statement, which pointed out that air pollution caused by urbanisation is also a contributing factor to the increase in the incidence rate.
As smoking, dust mites, air pollution, cockroaches and their waste, pet dander, joss stick smoke, and common foods that cause allergies such as shrimp, crabs and clams are common triggers for asthma, the bureau urged asthma patients to avoid the factors with effective asthma control and, at the same time, learn to use the respective medications such as bronchodilators and steroid inhalers correctly, in order to improve their symptoms and reduce the risk of severe attacks of asthma and even death.
This poster provided by the Health Bureau (SSM) on Monday shows the common triggers for asthma, such as tobacco smoke, dust mites, and pests.
