THE seemingly relentless rise in asthma levels worldwide that has intrigued and infuriated researchers for decades seems to be abating.
Thirty years ago asthma was a rare disease, but round the world the incidence of asthma has gone up by about 50 per cent every decade. Today 100 to 150 million people have the breathing problem, which costs $6 billion a year in the US alone.
But European studies are beginning to hint that the rise in asthma cases may have stopped. A recent study of school children in Rome showed that asthma levels are levelling out for those born…
