Asthma and respiratory allergy prevalence is still increasing among Finnish young adults

Asthma and allergic diseases are a major public health problem, and their prevalence has been increasing in Finland and other developed countries since the 1960s [1, 2]. Even though understanding of the origin of these conditions has improved in the last decades, tools for prevention are limited. The main aetiological hypotheses have varied over time. In the 1970–1980s, the main focus was on tobacco smoking and environmental pollution. In the 1990s, the “allergy epidemic” was linked with vaccinations, improved hygiene and reduced burden of infectious disease. During the last 10 years, reduced contact with environmental microbiota has been highlighted [3, 4]. We report here the self-reported prevalence of asthma, hay fever or other allergic rhinitis and allergic eye symptom over a 15-year period among the Finnish adult population. Asthma and respiratory allergy are still increasing in Finland, which is mainly explained by the cohort effect