China sees increase in asthma cases

Asthma cases have risen significantly in the past decades, said the country's leading expert on Tuesday.

"The number of cases increased from 1990 to 2010, especially among children, where the rate has tripled", said Lin Jiangtao, director of the department of respiration at China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing.

China conducted the first large-scale epidemiological survey on asthma in 2013, which covered a population of more than 164,000 in eight provinces and municipalities.

The study showed that there was a 148 percent jump in patients in Beijing and 190 percent in Shanghai, compared with the number in 2003.

Smoking, overweight, and not being breastfed are some of the major factors behind the rise in asthma cases, Lin said.

Many Western countries, such as the United State and Australia, have high number of asthma patients. About 20 percent of its population is suffering from the problem, said Lin.