As a disease, asthma's notoriety is widespread and well-known. A lot of different factors can be attributed to the uprising of this disease. The changes in the environment around us have contributed greatly to the advent of asthma, and many have gone as far as to call it a true 'lifestyle disease'.

In recent years, the numbers of asthma patients have grown immensely. The potential role of social and economic factors playing a role in this growth is still a matter of great debate. It is generally believed trend that a vast majority of the patients are from socioeconomically challenged backgrounds, although no solid research findings exist to back this statement, and asthma's persistent presence in the upper echelons of society do not help to make matters any less confusing.

However, the situation is somewhat less confusing in case of allergic asthma, since socioeconomically challenged people generally come in contact with a significantly greater amount of allergens than people from higher socioeconomic classes tend to do. It is also evident that in such cases, asthma has a much better chance of remaining undiscovered and untreated, hence its greater presence there is quite justified.