Asthma in the English-speaking Caribbean

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of asthma in the Caribbean is high and seems to be increasing. Asthma research in this region has been biased towards the paediatric population and there is little published on adult disease. There is a high prevalence of other allergic diseases in the patients studied, with skin reactivity to at least one allergen in 50 - 81 percent of subjects. Reactivity to house dust mite, especially Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, occurred most commonly and sensitivity to this mite correlated with high levels of mite proteins in mattress and bedroom dust. Asthmatic admissions to hospitals are highest in the last qaurter of the year by fall to their lowest levesl in April. Admission rates are influenced by climatic variables wuch as relative humidity and wind speed. In some territories current management of asthma remains reliant on the use of oral bronchodilators with underutilisation of inhaled beta-agonists and corticosteriod preparations