Understanding asthma and managing it effectively is key to reducing its severity, experts say. Photo / 123rf
Understanding asthma and managing it effectively is key to reducing its severity, experts say. Photo / 123rf
Asthma researchers say more education is needed to tackle Whanganui's high rates of the condition.
"Most of us know someone with asthma, but it's mostly been normalised," Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said.
In 2020, 98 people in New Zealand died because of asthma, largely due topeople not having inhalers on them during severe asthma attacks.
"There's no cure for asthma, so it's all about understanding and managing it effectively to make a difference to these statistics," Harding said.
Te Whatu Ora statistics show in 2019 there were 115 adults and 95 children (under 18 years old) hospitalised with asthma or childhood asthma in Whanganui.
In 2020, the numbers decreased to 93 adults and 53 children, and in 2021, 90 adults and 73 children were hospitalised.
"Even though there was a lot of fear around Covid-19 causing problems for people with asthma, when people didn't mingle with each other there was less respiratory illness going around, which can be a trigger for people having asthma attacks," Richards said.
Currently, one in four people with asthma were missing out on preventer treatment, putting many people at risk, she said.
Matui research showed a quarter of all adult asthma patients (over 12 years old) did not receive treatment that best reduced their risk of future severe asthma attacks.
"Those 25 per cent only received the blue inhalers people are pretty familiar with, known as short-acting Beta2-agonists, but they're designed only to bring short-term relief," Richards said.
The most recent guidelines released by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ stated short-acting Beta2-agonists were no longer recommended for the primary long-term management of asthma.
"The updated guidelines say if you're 12 and older and diagnosed with asthma, you should be using preventative methods to control your asthma as well."
She said this included an inhaled co-steroid, sometimes in the form of a combined inhaler with another medicine called a long-acting beta-agonist.
"But many people stayed on the blue inhalers without using preventative treatment, which can lead to more exacerbations."
Richards said as a person with asthma, she felt frustrated not all people with asthma received the care she did.
"It's a long-term condition and, if you have it, you've got to learn how to manage it, and the best course of management is using preventative inhalers."
She said everyone with asthma should ask their doctors about an asthma action plan.
Te Whatu Ora Whanganui interim district director Andrew McKinnon said highly deprived living conditions were a large contributor to the development of childhood asthma.
This was because children living in a high-deprivation environment were more likely to live in an overcrowded home with poor insulation and inadequate heating and were more likely to be exposed to tobacco smoke, McKinnon said.
"Whanganui has a significantly higher percentage of our population living in the most highly deprived conditions, with 63 per cent in Quintile Four and Five (most highly deprived conditions) compared to 40 per cent nationally."
Te Whatu Ora Whanganui interim district director Andrew McKinnon said highly deprived living conditions were a contributor to Whanganui's high number of asthma patients and hospitalisations. Photo / Supplied
McKinnon said asthma and paediatric asthma were prominent in highly deprived and Māori populations.
"The Whanganui region has a large percentage of Māori at 27 per cent of the population, compared to the New Zealand average of 15.7 per cent.
"There is also a higher percentage of children and young people with 20.2 per cent under 15 years of age, of which 43 per cent are of Māori ethnicity."
Richards said evidence showed Māori with asthma were more likely than other ethnicities to be hospitalised or die due to asthma.
"Despite this, Māori with asthma are less likely to be prescribed preventer inhalers or to have an action plan or receive adequate asthma education."
Asthma continued to be inadequately managed and is likely poorly controlled generally in the community, Richards said.
Asthma currently affects one in eight New Zealand children and causes about 29,000 hospital admissions for children each year.
