§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffered from asthma in east Lancashire for(a) 1989 and (b) 1994; and what were the national figures for these two dates. [21644]
§ Mr. HoramInformation on the number of people in East Lancashire suffering from asthma is not available centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact the relevant family health services authorities, which hold some information on the number of people resident in east Lancashire who suffer from asthma.
There are no comprehensive national data on the number of people with a diagnosis of asthma. However, it has been estimated that the prevalence of asthma sufficiently severe to require regular medical supervision is from 4 to 6 per cent. in children and about 4 per cent. in adults. More information is given in "Asthma: An Epidemiological Overview", produced by the central health monitoring unit of the Department of Health and published on 22 March 1995, copies of which are available in the Library.