Asthma: What Your Control Scores and Inhalers Tell Research

Every figure in this guide comes from a published source, linked where it appears and kept in CureCircle's evidence base with the source's own words. It is not medical advice. Read on 7 November 2026.

Asthma is common, well studied and, for many people, still not well controlled. Which inhaler works, how often attacks come, what sets them off and what keeps them away differs from one person to the next. Research on asthma control needs exactly that variation, recorded over time, and the person with asthma is the one who sees it.

How many people live with it

According to the WHO, "asthma affected an estimated 363 million people in 2023 and caused 442 000 deaths", and it "is often under-diagnosed and under-treated, particularly in low- and middle-income countries". The Global Burden of Disease study counted 37.86 million new cases of asthma in 2021. The WHO is also clear on what treatment can and cannot do: "asthma cannot be cured but there are several treatments available", and "the most common treatment is to use an inhaler".

The records worth keeping

NICE's 2024 guideline on asthma describes the tests and reviews that leave records:

• Diagnostic tests: a blood eosinophil count or FeNO level, and if those do not confirm it, spirometry to measure bronchodilator reversibility.
• A review at least once a year and after any attack, which should incorporate a written personalised action plan.
• Asthma control questionnaires such as the Asthma Control Questionnaire or the Asthma Control Test, at any asthma review. A series of these scores over time is one of the clearest measures of how asthma is going.
• Prescription records: NICE asks clinicians to check adherence, using prescription records, and inhaler technique at every asthma-related healthcare review.

Beside these, your own notes of attacks, triggers and reliever use, or a peak flow diary, show the pattern day by day. If you do not have your test results or action plan, ask your practice for a copy.

What sharing it is worth

CureCircle values every contribution with a public benchmark built from what health data has sold for. A complete asthma story with a year of the records the guideline lists comes to about $94 per licence on the benchmark today. With four asthma control questionnaires and 60 diary entries added, it comes to about $290 per licence: repeated validated scores and day-by-day notes are measured, comparable data research uses to tell which treatments work for whom. Every line and its source is on the asthma page.

A licence is not a one-off sale: the same de-identified story can be licensed to several research teams, and you earn a share each time.

How to share it

You start by writing what you live with in your own words; a few quick questions follow, then an AI interviewer asks about the details only you know, and you rate every inhaler and treatment you tried. You can add test results, your action plan, prescriptions and diary pages as PDFs or photos, and the AI reads them into your own medical file. If you care for a child with asthma, you can share their story for them, as their parent or guardian. Before anything is shared, you read the de-identified summary and decide.

Start your story, or read what your health data is worth first.