§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the national average, expressed as a percentage, of children with asthma-related illnesses; what is the equivalent figure in Derbyshire; and if he will make a statement. [50205]
§ Ms JowellThere are no comprehensive data on the number of children with asthma or related conditions. On the basis of all the information available, it has been estimated that
the prevalence of asthma sufficiently severe to require regular medical supervision is from 4–6 per cent. in children".This estimate is quoted in "Asthma: An Epidemiological Overview" (Central Health Monitoring Unit, 1995), which brought together a broad range of the best statistics on asthma. Copies are available in the Library.
According to the report of the Health Survey for England 1996, which was published in January 1998, 21 per cent. of children at some time in the past had been diagnosed as suffering from asthma. Copies of this report are also available in the Library. Similarly, in a study of asthma in Great Britain among children aged 12 to 14 years, carried out as part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, and also published in January in the "British Medical Journal", 20 per cent. of the children surveyed had had a diagnosis of asthma at some time.
The equivalent figures for Derbyshire are not available centrally.