Bob Hancox: Asthma and Respiratory Foundation Medical Director on new research revealing 1 in 5 Kiwis impacted by respiratory disease

There's hopes worrying new figures can help the health sector improve the outcomes of respiratory disease.

A report has found more people suffer from respiratory diseases than previously known, going from one in seven to one in five Kiwis each year.

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation Medical Director Bob Hancox says while it shows New Zealand's not doing well, the new research is important.

He says it gives experts a better understanding of how big the issue is.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One million New Zealanders are suffering from respiratory disease. That's
far worse than previously thought. This is according to a
new report from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, which found
one in five Kiwis are affected. Previously twenty twenty one,
that was one in seven. Bob Hancocks as the Asthma
and Richesty Foundation Medical Director, Professor. He's with us this morning.
Good morning, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
How are you good?

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Thank you Bob. How did we get something really wrong
here or how did why the big difference?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I think we've just got better data now and as
these reports have been done in updated several times each time,
we have better data and we we get a more
accurate idea of just how many people are suffering from
respiratory disease. So I think that's why.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
The difference one in five. How do we compare to
other similar countries.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
That's a good question. We haven't done a direct comparison.
I suspect we're not. We would be in the leading
the pact, but may not be much further ahead compared
to countries that like Australia and Britain and other places
that we might compare ourselves to because they have major
problems with respiratory disease as well. But at least with
this report, which was like an excellent report from Lucy

(01:15):
Tafa Barnard and James Zang, at least with this report,
we've got a better handle on how much of a
problem we have out there, and you know we're going
to do anything about it. That's really really important.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
What diseases are we talking about, sma and things like.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
That, Well, the report mostly covers asthma, COPD, and other
disease of the airways called bronchi extocyst, which people may
or may not have heard of, but the big two
are asthma and COPD. It also looked at pneumonia in
children and as well, because that's also of concern. But

(01:51):
there is some good news in here. The good news
is that with the work of a number of health
professionals around New Zealand and the Foundation, we have managed
to improve some of those statistics. So we haven't reduced
a number of people with asthma, but we've certainly made
a big dent in the number of people who have

(02:13):
severe enough asthma that they need to come to hospital.
So the Foundation set a target a few years ago,
trying to get a twenty five percent reduction in hospitalizations
by twenty twenty five. And we've already hit that tiger
for asthma, and we've already hit that tiger for COPD.
So there is good news in here as well as
a wake up called just how many people are suffering

(02:35):
from respiratory disease?

Speaker 1 (02:36):
All right, interesting stuff, Bob, thank you very much for
your time. We really appreciate it. Bob Hancock's Asthma and
Respiratory Foundation medical director professor telling us there that yes,
things have gotten worse because we are perhaps accounting for
them better. One and five, not one and seven of
us suffer from a respiratory disease, but we are managing
to stay out of hospital. Well more of us managing

(02:59):
this stay out of hospital with those conditions.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
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