Rise in the number of asthma deaths among older people

Deaths from asthma have increased dramatically among older Australians, and experts are at a loss to explain why.

After falling steadily since the 1980s, deaths from asthma increased among people aged 45 and older to 369 in 2006 - 40 per cent higher than any of the three preceding years - figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show.