title: The epidemiology, healthcare and societal burden and costs of asthma in the UK and its member nations: analyses of standalone and linked national databases.
abstract: There are a lack of reliable data on the epidemiology and associated burden and costs of asthma. We sought to provide the first UK-wide estimates of the epidemiology, healthcare utilisation and costs of asthma.
  
  
  
  We obtained and analysed asthma-relevant data from 27 datasets: these comprised national health surveys for 2010-11, and routine administrative, health and social care datasets for 2011-12; 2011-12 costs were estimated in pounds sterling using economic modelling.
  
  
  
  The prevalence of asthma depended on the definition and data source used. The UK lifetime prevalence of patient-reported symptoms suggestive of asthma was 29.5 % (95 % CI, 27.7-31.3; n = 18.5 million (m) people) and 15.6 % (14.3-16.9, n = 9.8 m) for patient-reported clinician-diagnosed asthma. The annual prevalence of patient-reported clinician-diagnosed-and-treated asthma was 9.6 % (8.9-10.3, n = 6.0 m) and of clinician-reported, diagnosed-and-treated asthma 5.7 % (5.7-5.7; n = 3.6 m). Asthma resulted in at least 6.3 m primary care consultations, 93,000 hospital in-patient episodes, 1800 intensive-care unit episodes and 36,800 disability living allowance claims. The costs of asthma were estimated at least £1.1 billion: 74 % of these costs were for provision of primary care services (60 % prescribing, 14 % consultations), 13 % for disability claims, and 12 % for hospital care. There were 1160 asthma deaths.
  
  
  
  Asthma is very common and is responsible for considerable morbidity, healthcare utilisation and financial costs to the UK public sector. Greater policy focus on primary care provision is needed to reduce the risk of asthma exacerbations, hospitalisations and deaths, and reduce costs.
authors: Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK. mome.mukherjee@ed.ac.uk.|Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK. mome.mukherjee@ed.ac.uk.
authors: Mome
authors: 0000-0002-3083-436X
authors: M
authors: Mukherjee
authors: Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.|Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Stoddart
authors: Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
authors: Ramyani P
authors: RP
authors: Gupta
authors: Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.|School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, 33014, Tampere, Finland.
authors: Bright I
authors: BI
authors: Nwaru
authors: Swansea Centre for Health Economics (SCHE), College of Human and Health Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Farr
authors: Farr Institute, Swansea University Medical School, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Heaven
authors: Swansea Centre for Health Economics (SCHE), College of Human and Health Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
authors: Deborah
authors: D
authors: Fitzsimmons
authors: Farr Institute, Swansea University Medical School, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
authors: Amrita
authors: A
authors: Bandyopadhyay
authors: The University of Edinburgh & The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Clinical Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4SA, UK.
authors: Chantelle
authors: C
authors: Aftab
authors: Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
authors: Colin R
authors: CR
authors: Simpson
authors: Farr Institute, Swansea University Medical School, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
authors: Ronan A
authors: RA
authors: Lyons
authors: Information Services Division (ISD), NHS National Services Scotland, Room 111, Gyle Square, 1 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9EB, UK.
authors: Colin
authors: C
authors: Fischbacher
authors: School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Dibben
authors: Centre for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Wellcome Wolfson Institute Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK.
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Shields
authors: Swansea Centre for Health Economics (SCHE), College of Human and Health Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
authors: Ceri J
authors: CJ
authors: Phillips
authors: Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
authors: David P
authors: DP
authors: Strachan
authors: Asthma & Allergy Group, Institute of Life Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
authors: Gwyneth A
authors: GA
authors: Davies
authors: Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
authors: Brian
authors: B
authors: McKinstry
authors: Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
authors: Aziz
authors: A
authors: Sheikh
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D016208:Databases, Factual; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Asthma; Burden; Cost; Epidemiology; UK