Asthma Deaths: A Review

Abstract

This paper describes a retrospective autopsy study of 285 asthma deaths in the coroner's jurisdiction in North and West London over a period of 30 years. The survey comprised 143 females and 122 males, with a strikingly large number of deaths occurring in the 1960–1970 era, covering the period that Isoprenaline inhalers were in common and widespread use. The study confirms a seasonal variation, in that deaths occurred more frequently in the third quarter of the year in both males and females, with a further increase in deaths in females in February and March. The age distribution shows that the majority of deaths occurred between 45 and 75 years of age, with a separate peak in males aged 25–29 years. The majority of deaths occurred at home.