Editorial: Asthma and other lung diseases skyrocketing in New Zealand – what’s behind the increase?

Respiratory disease accounts for one in 11 hospital admissions and is the country’s third-leading cause of death. Photo / 123rf

EDITORIAL

Data released last week shows the number of New Zealanders hampered by asthma or serious lung disease has grown by more than 40% in three years.

Figures from the 2023 “Impact of Respiratory Disease in New Zealand” report show about a million people in Aotearoa New Zealand are affected by a respiratory illness – that’s one in five New Zealanders.

Previous data, from 2021, showed that number was much lower, albeit still too high. Back then, one in seven New Zealanders suffered some type of respiratory illness.

This is no small issue: respiratory disease accounts for one in 11 hospital admissions and is the country’s third leading cause of death.

On top of the health repercussions, there is also a big financial impact brought on by these numbers – the cost of respiratory disease to New Zealand was estimated at nearly $8.5 billion every 12 months.

Every year, an estimated 360,000 school days are lost because of asthma.

The prevalence of respiratory disease in specific sections of our society is one of the many devastating consequences of what Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ chief executive Letitia Harding describes as “severe ethnic and socio-economic inequalities”.

The foundation is pushing for urgent new and extended programmes to reduce these inequalities, including a focus on stricter healthy homes standards.

“We hear so often from our specialists and nurse practitioners of kids who go in and out of hospital over winter... they’re in ED with several bouts of pneumonia,” Harding told RNZ last week, adding that this “causes a devastating impact on the lungs”.

“We’ve got to look at these cold, damp homes.”

It’s not all bad news: hospitalisations for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been trending down. Foundation medical director Professor Bob Hancox said the trend is likely the result of a stronger focus on prevention and care regarding these conditions. However, he added it’s clear respiratory disease continues to cause “a great deal of suffering” for New Zealanders.

“We must acknowledge that far too many people still suffer unnecessarily from conditions that could be prevented or treated more effectively,” Hancox added.

We simply cannot accept the reality of living in a country where children are getting sick because their homes are too damp; where an elderly person gets hospitalised with pneumonia because they are not receiving the level of care they require.

What these latest figures show is not only are we not looking after our most vulnerable - it would appear failing to care for them is actually putting more people at risk.

We’ve all collectively learned a lot about infectious diseases in the last few years. We know we not only need drier homes, but also well-ventilated classrooms and workplaces, among other things.

On an individual level, as we come out of winter into the warmer temperatures of Spring (any day now, surely?), this is a timely reminder to stay home if you’re sick – what constitutes a mild illness for you could have devastating consequences for others.