At least 32 per cent of Maltese boys and girls aged between 11 and 14 suffer from wheezing, according to an EU study.

At least 15 per cent said they wheezed at least once in the span of a year and another 18 per cent said they had been diagnosed with having asthma, respiratory expert Martin Balzan told a conference organised by the Maltese Asthmatic Society to mark World Asthma Day today.

Initial results from the Respira project, carried out in collaboration with the Health Ministry, health professionals and health centres in Sicily, showed that Maltese were three times more prone to suffer from asthma, which is probably exacerbated by traffic pollution and emissions from the Marsa power station.

“This amounts to around one in five children,” Dr Balzan, who headed the €800,000 project, said.

One out of eight children, 12.6 per cent, had been given medication for wheezing or shortness of breath.

Another 31 per cent said they had suffered from symptoms of hay fever, which includes a runny or blocked nose and sneezing. Another 21 per cent said they were diagnosed as suffering from suffering allergies.

Dr Balzan explained that one of the main problems was that there was no clear definition of asthma.

The project also revealed that children also were 2.7 times more at risk of suffering from asthma if their mother suffered from asthma. Chances were lower, 1.8, if the father also had the condition.