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Tuesday 13 November 2007

RAPID ROUNDUP: New Report 'Economic Impact of Allergies' - Experts respond

Allergies cost Australia more than 7 billion dollars annually according to an Access Economics Report to be released by the Australasian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) tomorrow.

While some allergic diseases such as asthma have levelled off, many, including peanut and other food allergies, are on the increase. The report highlights concerns over a looming lack of skilled expertise needed to handle the future demand for allergy treatment. Experts comment below.

Feel free to use these comments in your stories. If you would like a copy of the paper or wish to speak to an expert, don’t hesitate to contact us on 08 8207 7415 or email us .

Please note that these views are the personal opinions of the experts named here. They do not represent the views of the AusSMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated. The AusSMC attempts to provide a range of views from the scientific community within a useful timeframe for news media. More comments will be added to the AusSMC website as they become available.

Dr Raymond J Mullins is President elect of the Australasian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA).

“Allergies affect 1 in 5 Australians, at a cost of $7.8 billion per year in direct medical costs, lost productivity ('Presenteeism'), absenteeism and lower employment. To that you can add another $ 21.6 billion if you place a dollar value on loss of well-being and premature death. For the 4.1 million affected by allergies, the greatest financial burden falls on young working adults and their children, who end up paying half the associated costs.

And the situation won’t get any better unless we intervene. In recent years we have seen an increase in the number of those with hay fever, eczema and now food allergy and potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis. By 2050, we anticipate that 1 in 4 Australians will suffer allergies, and that there will be a massive 70% increase in the number of Australians affected to 7.7 million. We are faced with ever increasing waiting lists in our hospital clinics and surgeries, and significant barriers to accessing specialist care in some regions. The report also shows that without intervention, specialist services will contract 15% over the next decade at the very time that demand is increasing.

This report is a wake-up call to State and Federal governments to place allergic disease higher on the healthcare priorities, to invest heavily in training and research, and ease the financial burden on our allergic patients”.

Dr Peter Smith is a paediatric allergy specialist in Queensland.

"The report is a breakthrough in information regarding the burden of allergic disease to individuals and our society. It puts into context the scope of allergy and helps in some appreciation of the suffering over 4 million Australians with allergic disease experience. It also highlights the dramatic rise in food allergy and anaphylaxis in our country. The financial impact of allergic disease is estimated to cost Australia over 7 billion dollars in 2007. The report indentifies the demand for specialists in both the public and private systems in Australia. This is projected to deteriorate with the continued increase in allergic diseases and lack of trainees to replace specialists. Approximately 40% of current allergy specialists are due to retire in the next 10 years."

Dr William Smith is an allergy specialist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Allergy SA.

“In light of this report, I believe allergy must be given higher priority, both in terms of government spending on research and provision of medical services, and a greater focus on education. There are very few specialists in allergy and it is a disease that often tends to fall through the cracks, partly because allergies span a broad spectrum from life threatening through to minor and most patients are not hospitalised. Many people don’t appreciate the severe end of the spectrum.

Hospitals are placing lower priority on the provision of outpatient services these days and so many people go to private clinics for allergy treatment. But not everyone can afford private clinics and hospital waiting lists are often very long, more than a year in some cases. To add to this problem, many doctors in general practice are poorly equipped to deal with allergy and there simply aren’t enough specialists to provide education. Given the increase in allergies in children, poor availability of allergy services for children is particularly worrying.”

Dr Bob Heddle is an allergy specialist, member and former President of ASCIA and an active member of ASCIA working parties on anaphylaxis and stinging insect allergy.

“The Access Economics Report provides objective data about the huge impact that allergic disorders make and will increasingly make on our community. It also describes some of the difficulties in meeting community needs and recommends an urgent doubling of training positions for specialists in Clinical Immunology and Allergy. Through my involvement in attempts to improve and broaden service delivery, I see that to service community needs in problems as prevalent as those in Allergy we need to enhance services across a very broad range of health services, including general practice, GPs with a special interest, specialised nursing and dietetics services.

However, many allergy problems by virtue of complexity and/or risk of investigations and/or procedures require specialist input. Further, as some activity in the field is delivered by a broader range of personnel, the teaching, training and supervision responsibilities of Allergy specialists must also increase, yet the largest cohort of Allergy Specialists are aged 61-70 years. There are very serious risks to the community if the Access Economics recommendations about training of health professionals in general and training of specialists in particular are not followed”.

Professor Anne-Louise Ponsonby is an epidemiologist and public health expert at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

“This Access Economics report highlights that allergic disease is common, with approximately one fifth of all Australians affected. Unlike many other diseases, the burden is evident among the young.

Generally, allergic disorders appear to be increasing in prevalence, although the asthma rate has plateaued. Hay fever, eczema and food allergies are continuing to increase over time, with a significant focus of concern on the rising prevalence of child peanut allergy. The costs outlined in the report highlight that much of the burden is due to related issues such as impaired sleep, distress with the ongoing itch of eczema or anxiety in relation to food allergy.

Diagnostics and treatment of allergy has continued to improve over time but there remains a need for more research to understand why these diseases are increasing and to prepare for increased demand for the treatment of allergic disease in the future.”