Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children.

• Asthma can start at any age but it most commonly starts in childhood.
• Approximately 1 in 10 Australians have Asthma.
• People with a family history of Asthma or allergies may be at higher risk of developing Asthma.
• Asthma is also more common in people who were born premature, had low birth weight or whose mother smoked during pregnancy.
• Exposure to smoke or air pollution in childhood also increases the risk of Asthma.
• Indigenous Australians were 1.6 times more likely than the rest of the population to report having Asthma, in recent studies.

Asthma more commonly affects boys in childhood, but tends to affect more females later in adulthood.