Studies into a crisis
Epidemiological studies on asthma in India have been few and far between. Two landmark pilot studies (1965 and 1975) were carried out in Delhi and Patna by R Vishwanathan, the founder-director of Delhi's Patel Chest Institute. These studies revealed a 2.7 per cent incidence in rural and 1.6 per cent incidence in urban areas.
The Indian government is now making determined efforts to build up the necessary epidemiological data. Among the major studies underway are a two-year study by the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) and the Patel Chest Institute which evaluates the contribution of air pollution to respiratory diseases in Delhi, an Indian Council for Medical Research-Patel Chest Institute study into the prevalence of asthma in school children in Delhi and a three-year all-India study coordinated by the MEF on aero-allergens and human health.
The preliminary data from these studies serves to confirm fears that asthma needs to be tackled on a war footing:
• Eight per cent of Delhi's population is affected.
• The current prevalence of asthma in school children in Delhi is 11.1 per cent.
• The cumulative prevalence (inclusive of present sufferers of asthma as well as those who may have had the disease in the past but may not have symptoms) in Delhi's school children is 15 per cent.
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