Dubai: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) on Saturday began a four-day campaign to educate people on asthma in support of the World Asthma Day which takes place on May 4.
The campaign is executed in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, one of the leading companies in respiratory medicine.
According to a study conducted last year across the Gulf and Near East, 53 per cent children in the UAE had been absent from school due to asthma issues, while another 77 per cent of respondents had unscheduled emergency visits.
The campaign aims to educate patients and the general public about asthma, its impact on lives and how it can be managed on a day-to-day basis.
Knowing lung age
As part of the experience, visitors to the education centre will be given the opportunity to try a spirometer and find out how well their lungs function and discover their lung age.
Dr Ahmad Ebrahim Saif Kalban, CEO of the Primary Healthcare Sector at the DHA said: "The impact on asthma especially on young children drastically affects their quality of life because many of them cannot even attend school due to chronic asthma.
The problem we face in the UAE is the lack of awareness about this condition.
If diagnosed early, asthma can be managed properly and the impact of the condition will not affect a person's day-to-day life to a large extent..."
Four DHA health centres — Al Mankhool Health Centre, Al Mamzar Health Centre, Al Tawar Health Centre and Al Khawaneej Health Centre — will all offer asthma checks to patients.
Meanwhile, recent statistics from the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies showed that 1,113 Emiratis and expatriates were found to have genetic blood diseases including beta thalassemia and anaemia.
It shows that of the 240 genetic diseases 82 per cent are caused by marriages to close relatives.
