Is asthma being over-diagnosed in children?

Professor Andrew Bush and Dr Louise Fleming have highlighted concern over the over-prescription of steroid inhalers to children with asthma.

The two National Heart & Lung Institute researchers have raised the issue in the journal Archives of Disease Childhood, where they argue that following our previous under-diagnosis of asthma we are now over-diagnosing the very same condition.

Steriod inhalers can have side-effects as well as benefits and their use must be carefully diagnosed. With no definitive test for the diagnosis of asthma at present, guidelines are issued to doctors to help work out if someone has the disease.  This latest publication calls for more careful consideration by doctors before the initial diagnosis of a child, but also reflection on the progression of the disease with age and monitoring the need for continued medication.

For a full report on the issues raised read the BBC News report