Provides up-to-date information about asthma, and summarises what is known and where the gaps lie. The report also makes recommendations to authorities on required actions. Executive summary When examining the burden of asthma today, there is much to be concerned about. Asthma is a common chronic non-communicable disease that affects as many as 334 million...

This report provides information about mortality due to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Australia, examining trends over time, seasonal variation, international comparison and variation by age, sex, remoteness, Indigenous status, country of birth and socioeconomic disadvantage. Summary Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic lung diseases; COPD mainly affects older...

Recent research in Perth, Western Australia has found that the risk of emergency department presentation for asthma is higher among children who live closer to major urban centres such as Perth and Fremantle. However, an increase in socio-economic status is also strongly associated with proximity to these areas.

About 9–15% of adult-onset asthma cases can be attributed to exposures at work. Precise data are not available, but based on research from Australia and overseas, there may be as many as 1,000–3,000 new cases of occupational asthma each year in Australia.

In 2004, the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring reviewed the proposal indicators for monitoring asthma in Australia and published a set of recommended indicators. An accompanying data development plan was published in 2005. This report reviews the outcomes of the indicator review, the lessons learnt through experience with various data sources, progress so far with...