Asthma is a common illness among children in Australia, and new research shows regional areas are disproportionately affected.
A study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Global Health Research and Policy, identified 465 hotspots for childhood asthma around the country.
The Shepparton area was among those identified in Victoria.
“We observed a notable relationship between asthma hotspots and areas of high socio-economic disadvantage,” the research states.
Researchers also noted that higher childhood asthma rates were frequently associated with areas with higher Indigenous populations.
“We suspected there would be an elevated proportion of children with asthma in areas of greater deprivation, but to see such a difference within one country and so many areas of hotspots, it surprised us,” said lead author, Dr Jahid Khan, from the University of NSW’ school of clinical medicine.
“This highlights to policymakers the areas where more resources and more targeted intervention are needed, to reduce the burden of asthma among children, as well as the associated hospital costs and health expenditure.”
Various factors may contribute to the higher prevalence of asthma in kids in areas like Shepparton.
According to Dr Nusrat Homaira, a co-author of the research, environmental factors, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and limited access to healthcare could all contribute to the trend that sees a higher burden in regional and rural communities.
“People on lower incomes are more likely to be in substandard housing, where there can be greater exposure to triggers like mould and dust mites or may be living in areas where there are higher levels of air pollution or pollens,” Dr Homaira said.
She also said access to paediatric asthma specialists is usually harder in regional and remote communities, which can lead to poor control of the condition.
Asthma, a chronic lung condition that affects the airways and makes it harder to breathe, is found in roughly 10 per cent of children aged 14 years and under in Australia.
Researchers identified hotspots through data from the last census, which included a question that asked parents to self-report if their child had been diagnosed with asthma.
Researchers looked at asthma rates in small geographic areas.
Areas were designated as hotspots when there was a cluster of communities with higher-than-average childhood asthma rates.
Victoria is home to 20.9 per cent of the country’s hotspots, according to the study.
According to Professor Lisa Bourke with the University of Melbourne’s Department of Rural Health in Shepparton, asthma is also an issue in adults in the community.
“Earlier research found 19 per cent of adults in Shepparton and Mooroopna self-reported having Asthma,” Ms Bourke said.
That’s an increase from the early 2000s, when 16 per cent of Shepparton residents reported having asthma, she said.
“The severity of these conditions varies among residents, from those where their respiratory condition impacts daily function, sleeping and physical activity to others who lives are less impacted or the frequency of impact is lower,” she said.