Fighting inequality for people with asthma
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been clear that some groups have been affected more than others. A new light has been shone on the inequalities that still persist in our society, and asthma plays a major part in this.
5.4 million people in the UK are currently receiving treatment for asthma
The sad truth is that some groups of people will be more affected than others. Anyone can develop asthma, but people on lower incomes are more likely to suffer from uncontrolled symptoms. This is fuelled by difficulties in affording prescription charges and can result in potentially life-threatening asthma attacks. Furthermore, people on lower incomes often have inferior access to care and treatment to help manage their asthma.
It’s not just asthma where we see this divergence. The NHS records data on the gap in early deaths between the richest and poorest for different major disease areas. Shockingly, lung disease is the only area where this is going in the wrong direction and the gap is widening. This includes asthma, but also other lung conditions like COPD.
The most obvious cause of this is smoking – smoking rates are at an all time low but concentrated in certain groups. 26% of people in ‘routine and manual’ occupations smoke, compared to just 10% of those in ‘managerial’ jobs.
However, smoking is by no means the only cause. Cold and damp homes, exposure to outdoor air pollution and unsafe working environments also contribute and can cause a flare up of symptoms.
There has never been a more important time to address inequalities in lung disease
People with asthma, especially when it is poorly controlled, are at higher risk of serious illness as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic has shown like never before how important it is that we all have healthy, resilient lungs.
Asthma UK are delighted to be founding members of the Inequalities in Health Alliance. By working together with other organisations, we hope to develop a strategy that will tackle these inequalities head on. It’s over 10 years since Sir Michael Marmot published his groundbreaking report Fair Society, Healthy Lives. Now is the time to make his vision a reality, and fight together to level up prevention, care and treatment of asthma for all of us.
This article was originally featured by the Royal College of Physicians as part of a series of blogs to mark the launch of the Inequalities in Health Alliance.
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