[Morbidity and mortality induced by asthma in 1996].
Because asthma is an episodic disease with intermittent and unpredictable manifestations, the patient must be constantly on the alert to his condition, causing permanent stress for the entire family. The time and effort spent for treatment can be a great burden for the patient and his family and friends, sometimes causing a handicap in school or profession life. Consequently, the way relatives, friends, and society in general perceive asthma can have an effect on their reaction to the disease. Dominant attitudes in a given social setting create a standard, socially accepted definition of the disease which can play an essential role in asthma-induced morbidity. The link between morbidity, mortality, poverty and quality of health care is a constant feature in epidemiological data on asthma. In areas where pollution is low or access to health care unimpaired, survival curves for asthma patients are similar to those for the non-asthmatic population, demonstrating the role of the social context in asthma-induced mortality. One must however be very prudent in analyzing epidemiological data on asthma since most published work has been conducted in a specific cultural and medical context, often with a health care structure which is quite different from the situation in France. In order to improve the situation of the asthma population in France, two essential questions, "which patients suffer from their asthma?" and "which patients die from their asthma?" must be answered. Then in order to reach those patients which do not consult, the general population should then be informed. Important targets include better informing general practitioners, facilitating access to health care, training asthma patients, and improving social aid to compensate for the patient's economic incapacity. No matter what improvements in treatment are acquired, in these factors are not taken into consideration, there can be little hope of improving asthma-induced morbidity and mortality.
Taytard
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Service des Maladies Respiratoires, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D009017:Morbidity; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Qu'en est-il en 1996 de la morbidité et de la mortalité induites par l'asthme?