About 8,000 Maltese children suffer from asthma and some 1,000 are admitted to hospital because of the respiratory condition each year, the Health Ministry said.
The rate of asthma in children has been on the rise and, during a conference to mark World Asthma Day last week, the health department said this could be due to the fact that children were spending more time indoors.
Maltese doctors are studying the effect of indoor pollution, at home and school, on respiratory childhood health, consultant respiratory physician Stephen Montefort explains in the four-page pullout published with The Times today.
The most recent data shows that the condition’s prevalence on a national scale, including adults, increased from 7.3 per cent in 2002 to nine per cent in 2008.
But the Malta Asthmatics’ Society estimates that the figure has reached 13 per cent.
Prof. Montefort explains that the treatment and diagnosis of asthma has improved and, with treatment, an asthmatic person can lead a normal life.