§ Mr. SwireTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffer from asthma and how many suffered from asthma in each of the last five years. [128124]
§ Dr. LadymanInformation on the incidence of individual conditions is not held centrally. It is estimated, however, that asthma affects around 4 per cent. of adults and 4 to 6 per cent. of children sufficiently severely to require medical supervision. This amounts to around 2 million people in England.
Hospital Episode Statistics data, based on finished consultant episodes (FCEs), show a decline in the number of people who were admitted to hospital between 1997–2002. This information is shown in the table.
Year 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Admissions 71,434 69,824 66,054 60,376 60,134 Note:
An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one healthcare provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may several episodes within the year.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the relationship between lifestyle and(a) asthma and (b) diabetes. [127346]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body, which receives its grant in aid from the Office of Science and Technology. The Department of Health funds research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in the national health service.
The lifestyle factors that interact with asthma will be very different for different people and will also change through an individual's life. In 2001–02 the MRC spent £0.3 million on research relating to lifestyle and asthma. The Department is funding research on air pollution and asthma, and a project on the effect of a low allergen indoor environment on exacerbations of asthma.
The importance of healthy lifestyle choices for avoiding or delaying the onset of diabetes and its complications is well established. In 2001–02 the MRC spent £2.7 million on a wide range of research relating to lifestyle and diabetes. The Department and the MRC worked together with Diabetes UK and the Wellcome Trust on the "Review of Current and Future Research on Diabetes", published in October 2002. The review identified a need for genetics and molecular biology to be brought into large-scale epidemiological studies, with definition of lifestyle and environmental factors. A Department led task group with participation from the MRC, Diabetes UK and others has been established to determine how best to take forward the proposals in the review.
The Department, MRC and the Wellcome Trust are to provide an initial £61 million to support the development of the UK Biobank project. This project aims to obtain comprehensive data on the combined 165W effects of genotype, lifestyle and environmental exposure to assess the risk of developing the common multi-factorial diseases of later life, including diabetes.