Asthma: key points

  • Public Health Scotland publish experimental data on disease prevalence from Scottish Primary Care Information Resource (SPIRE). In 2023 an estimated 6.5 per 100 patients registered with a GP had a diagnosis of asthma (data available from 66.4% of GP practices).
  • The number of asthma-related hospital admissions rose between 2021/22 and 2022/23, following a sharp drop during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they remain below pre-pandemic levels. In 2022/23, 76 per 100,000 population were admitted to hospital with asthma.
  • Children under the age of 10 are more likely to be admitted to hospital due to asthma than those aged 10 and above.
  • Females are more likely than males to be hospitalised with asthma and have asthma as their underlying cause of death. Of the 140 deaths due to asthma in 2023, 93 (66%) were female and 47 (34%) were male.

Section updates:

  • The last major update of this section was completed in September 2024.
  • The next major update is due to be carried out by end September 2025.