PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Sheetu Singh AU - Sundeep Salvi AU - Daya Krishan Mangal AU - Meenu Singh AU - Shally Awasthi AU - Padukudru Anand Mahesh AU - Sushil K. Kabra AU - Sabir Mohammed AU - Thevaruparambil U. Sukumaran AU - Aloke G. Ghoshal AU - Monica Barne AU - Sanjeev Sinha AU - Sanjay K. Kochar AU - Nishtha Singh AU - Udaiveer Singh AU - Kamalesh Kumar Patel AU - Arvind Kumar Sharma AU - Bhushan Girase AU - Anil Chauhan AU - Niranjan Sit AU - Jayaraj B. Siddaiah AU - Virendra Singh TI - Prevalence, time trends and treatment practices of asthma in India: the Global Asthma Network study AID - 10.1183/23120541.00528-2021 DP - 2022 Apr 01 TA - ERJ Open Research PG - 00528-2021 VI - 8 IP - 2 4099 - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/8/2/00528-2021.short 4100 - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/8/2/00528-2021.full SO - erjor2022 Apr 01; 8 AB - Objective The objective of this subanalysis of data from centres across urban areas in India of the Global Asthma Network (GAN) was to study 1) the prevalence of symptoms of asthma in children and adults, 2) the change in prevalence of asthma and its trigger factors since the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), and 3) current asthma treatment practice.Methods In this cross-sectional, multicentre, school-based and self-administered questionnaire, responses from children aged 6–7 years and 13–14 years, and their respective parents, were analysed.Results The GAN Phase I study included 20 084 children in the 6–7-year age group, 25 887 children in the 13–14-year age group and 81 296 parents. The prevalence of wheeze in the previous 12 months was 3.16%, 3.63% and 3.30% in the three groups, respectively. In comparison to the ISAAC studies, there was a significant reduction in the prevalence of current wheeze (p<0.001). Bivariate analysis revealed a significant reduction in the prevalence of trigger factors. Almost 82% of current wheezers and 70% of subjects with symptoms of severe asthma were not clinically diagnosed as having asthma. The daily use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) was less than 2.5% in subjects with current wheeze and those with symptoms of severe asthma but less than 1% used daily ICS when asthma remained undiagnosed.Conclusion The prevalence of current wheeze and its causal factors showed a significant reduction compared to previous ISAAC studies. Among subjects with current wheeze and symptoms of severe asthma, the problem of under-diagnosis and under-treatment was widespread.Data from Indian centres that participated in the multicentre Global Asthma Network showed a significant decline in symptoms of asthma compared to previous studies. The study highlighted under-diagnosis and under-treatment in children and adults with asthma. https://bit.ly/3thevot