A study published in the British Journal of General Practice titled “Overdiagnosis of asthma in children in primary care: a retrospective analysis” found that over half of children diagnosed with asthma at several major healthcare centers in the Netherlands probably do not have the disease.
Researchers from Julius Health Care Center and University Medical Center Utrecht examined the records of over 650 children aged 6-18 diagnosed with asthma who were treated at academic healthcare centers in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Only about 16% of the diagnoses had been confirmed with spirometry, and almost 54% of the children were unlikely to actually have asthma based on their symptoms.
The authors concluded that “Overdiagnosis of childhood asthma is common in primary care, leading to unnecessary treatment, disease burden, and impact on quality of life.”
Read the British Journal of General Practice abstract.
