- Record numbers of children and young adults are suffering
from long-term illnesses and conditions, according to figures released
yesterday.
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- While better housing and labour-saving appliances have
improved standards of living, rates of chronic illness have doubled in
children and young adults. The figures were published yesterday by the
Office for National Statistics as part of its annual Living in Britain
survey, involving 20,000 people.
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- The study showed that among children and young adults,
asthma and other allergies made up the bulk of the problems. Other conditions
included breathing problems other than asthma, digestive disorders, mental
illness and heart disease.
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- One in six children under five now suffer from a long-standing
illness, compared with 4 per cent in 1972. Chronic conditions have also
more than doubled among five to 15-year-olds, from 8 per cent 30 years
ago to one in five in 2002. A quarter of people aged 16 to 44 now suffer
from a long-term illness. Experts said that the majority were suffering
from allergies such as asthma.
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- The number of adults with the condition has increased
sixfold in the past 25 years and has tripled among children, amounting
to 5.1 million sufferers. A spokeswoman for the National Asthma Campaign
said: "We don't know the reasons for this increase, although we do
know that genetics play a part.
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- "Environmental pollution may also be a factor, as
well as the 'sealed box' syndrome where children are growing up in centrally-heated
houses and are not getting fresh air or being exposed to infection to help
them build up immunity to disease."
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- These changes are also highlighted in the survey. In
1972, only half of households had access to a car or van; now three quarters
have at least one vehicle. Only one in three households had central heating
30 years ago, compared with 93 per cent in 2002.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=502725
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