Celebrating World Asthma Day

On May 6th, 2025, the global community observes World Asthma Day. This celebration is held annually on the first Tuesday in May to raise awareness of this chronic lung condition. According to a systemic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study in 2021, Asthma has affected an estimated 260 million people and caused approximately 436,000 deaths in 2021 (Mao et al, 2025).This year’s theme, “Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for All,” shines a light on inequalities in health globally and focuses on the fact that no one should suffer from preventable asthma attacks because they lack access to essential medications. Assessing the impact of asthma is crucial for shaping health policies, guiding resource allocation, and advancing prevention efforts (Yuan et al, 2025).

Inhaled therapies are effective asthma controllers as they reduce lung inflammation and airway reactivity, resulting in fewer symptoms and improved control (Papi et al, 2020). Whilst inhaled treatments are the cornerstone of asthma control, environmental factors such as air pollution are drivers of asthma exacerbations. Air pollutants such as PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone lead to respiratory tract inflammation, which can trigger asthma symptoms, impair lung function, decrease quality of life and life expectancy (Lee et al. 2021). Even if there is increased accessibility to inhaled therapies, a key factor in improving global outcomes will be reducing exposure to air pollutants.

The focus of World Asthma Day this year is on the accessibility of inhaled therapies, yet, asthma care is not truly equitable until both medicines and environmental protection are accessible to everyone. Globally, communities are subjected to poor air quality due to traffic, industrialization, biomass fuels, and other factors. Marginalized communities are sometimes unable to mitigate the impacts of these factors on their health due to low economic power or a lack of adequate social support. Subsequently, these communities are even more negatively impacted by poor air quality with limited mechanisms to combat deleterious health effects and poor access to medications and care.

Information is power. Air quality monitoring provides individuals and communities with the data they need to know when air quality can negatively impact their health. It provides them with the knowledge to avoid high-pollution areas, adjust their treatment plans, or take preventative steps. For people living with asthma, real-time air quality alerts may be lifesaving. For healthcare providers, air quality insights can aid in tailoring treatment recommendations and help individuals make informed decisions about avoiding exposure to high air pollutant levels and when and where to use their inhalers.

The worldwide death rate associated with asthma remains a major public health concern. Everyone deserves access to the knowledge and tools required to protect their health. For asthma, it is imperative to reduce health inequalities by investing in public health systems that support easy access to inhaled therapies and air quality data. Inhalers save lives, but so does clean air. Let’s fight for both.

References:

Lee YG, Lee PH, Choi SM, An MH, Jang AS. Effects of Air Pollutants on Airway Diseases. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 20;18(18):9905. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18189905. PMID: 34574829; PMCID: PMC8465980.

Mao Z, Zhu X, Zheng P, Wang L, Zhang F, Chen L, Zhou L, Liu W, Liu H. Global, regional, and national burden of asthma from 1990 to 2021: A systematic analysis of the global burden of disease study 2021. Chin Med J Pulm Crit Care Med. 2025 Mar 12;3(1):50-59. doi: 10.1016/j.pccm.2025.02.005. PMID: 40226600; PMCID: PMC11993038.

Papi A, Blasi F, Canonica GW, Morandi L, Richeldi L, Rossi A. Treatment strategies for asthma: reshaping the concept of asthma management. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2020 Aug 15;16:75. doi: 10.1186/s13223-020-00472-8. PMID: 32944030; PMCID: PMC7491342.

Yuan L, Tao J, Wang J, She W, Zou Y, Li R, Ma Y, Sun C, Bi S, Wei S, Chen H, Guo X, Tian H, Xu J, Dong Y, Ma Y, Sun H, Lv W, Shang Z, Jiang Y, Lv H, Zhang M. Global, regional, national burden of asthma from 1990 to 2021, with projections of incidence to 2050: a systematic analysis of the global burden of disease study 2021. EClinicalMedicine. 2025 Jan 9;80:103051. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.103051. PMID: 39867965; PMCID: PMC11764843.