Nursery World - Asthma epidemic may have peaked

The number of children displaying asthma symptoms in Aber- deen may be levelling out for the first time in 40 years, a study by Aberdeen University has shown. A survey of 3,700 children, aged between seven and 11, found that 26 per cent of them had been diagnosed with asthma since birth. A further 26 per cent suffered from eczema and 19 per cent from hayfever.

A survey of 3,700 children, aged between seven and 11, found that 26 per cent of them had been diagnosed with asthma since birth. A further 26 per cent suffered from eczema and 19 per cent from hayfever.

The findings come from the most recent study in a series that began in 1964. Aberdeen is unique worldwide in having a picture of trends in childhood asthma and allergic disease going back to that time.

The number of children with eczema and hay fever has risen since 1999 but, for the first time since the surveys began, the percentage of children who have wheezed in the last three years has not increased, suggesting the peak of the 'asthma epidemic' has passed.

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