ISAAC, The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, is a unique worldwide epidemiological research programme established in 1991 to investigate asthma, rhinitis and eczema in children due to considerable concern that these conditions were increasing in western and developing countries.
ISAAC has become the largest worldwide collaborative research project ever undertaken, involving more than 100 countries and nearly 2 million children and its aim is to develop environmental measures and disease monitoring in order to form the basis for future interventions to reduce the burden of allergic and non-allergic diseases, especially in children in developing countries.
The ISAAC findings to date have shown that these diseases are increasing in developing countries and that they have little to do with allergy, especially in the developing world. Further population studies are urgently needed to discover more about the underlying mechanisms of non-allergic causes of asthma, rhinitis and eczema and the burden of these conditions.
The ISAAC Story
The ISAAC Steering Committee is proud to announce that the ISAAC Story, a 20 year history of ISAAC, is now available on the website. This fascinating account contains details from the how ISAAC was first conceived through to the findings of the very latest papers. Recollections of founding members, full descriptions of all aspects of the methodology and tools, all publications graphs and maps are available as well as pages for each of the 9 regions, 105 countries and 306 centres containing centre information, collaborators and personal recollections of the investigators.
View the ISAAC Story
Phase Three Data
The ISAAC Phase One and Three data is now available from all centres
Phase One | Phase Three
Phase One Data
The ISAAC Phase One individual data is now available on the ISAAC website
View
ISAAC Symposium
Speakers notes from the ISAAC 20 year symposium are now available on the website.
Download slides
ISAAC Publications
Our user friendly publications page is regularly updated with the latest ISAAC publications.
View
ISAAC Tools
ISAAC questionnaires and tools have now been collated on one page for ease of use
View
Asthma Guidelines
ISAAC has collected a range of asthma management guidelines with no Pharmaeceutical funding
View
Please acknowledge the ISAAC Steering Committee when using any of the material in this web site.
Website design by Eamon Ellwood. Please contact Eamon if you would like to link to this page.
Last revised: .
This website is hosted by The University of Auckland 
ISAAC News
Promoting asthma care in 2012
To start the new year, here is a short editorial by Donald Enarson about asthma just out in the IJTLD designed to get more people to pay attention to asthma in 2012. view article
Best wishes for the new year from the IIDC.
Latest ISAAC Newsletter
The November 2011 newsletter is now available on the website view
Global Asthma Report 2011 launched
ISAAC has collaborated with The Union to produce the Global Asthma Report 2011.This report shows the tools to manage asthma exist but are not reaching many of the 235 million people affected. The Global Asthma Report 2011 highlights the issues surrounding this major non-communicable disease.
Download report | View website | Download press release
Latest Phase Two paper published
Kings College London has issued a press release announcing the latest ISAAC Phase Two paper by Dr Carsten Flohr, The release has been posted by a number of news sites. The paper shows that prolonged breast feeding may not be protective against eczema and other allergies as once thought. read more | View abstract
Latest Phase Three paper published
Global analysis of breast feeding and risk of symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in 6—7 year old children: ISAAC Phase Three. Bengt Björkstén, Nadia Aït-Khaled, M Innes Asher, Tadd Clayton, Colin Robertson and the ISAAC Phase Three Study Group. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr); 2011. doi:10.1016/j.aller.2011.02.005 (e-pub) View abstract
Phase One Individual data released
The embargo on the ISAAC Phase One individual level data has now expired and the Phase One individual level data is publicly available on the ISAAC website (http://isaac.auckland.ac.nz/phases/phaseone/results/resultsIndv.php).
Phase One and Three summary data released for all centres
The ISAAC Phase One and Three summary data which has already been published in ISAAC worldwide papers is now available for all 237 Phase Three centres at http://isaac.auckland.ac.nz/phases/phasethree/results/results.php and for all 156 Phase One Centres at (http://isaac.auckland.ac.nz/phases/phaseone/results/results.php).
Auckland Medical Research Foundation Public Lecture
Professor Innes Asher shared the highlights of the ISAAC work and recent Symposium at this public lecture hosted by the Auckland Medical Research Foundation read more
ISAAC Editorial in The IJTLD
Professor Innes Asher was invited to contribute an editorial in The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease(IJTLD), as part of World Asthma Day.
read more
ISAAC Editorial in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
ISAAC's influence has once again been noted in this editorial referring to both the latest ISAAC paper (below) and the earlier paracetamol paper related to the 6-7 year age group. view editorial
Latest ISAAC paper published
Acetaminophen Use and Risk of Asthma, Rhinoconjunctivitis and Eczema in Adolescents: ISAAC Phase Three. Beasley RW, Clayton TO, Crane J, Lai CKW, Montefort SR, von Mutius E, Stewart AW, and the ISAAC Phase Three Study Group. Am J Resp Crit Care Med. 2011; 183(2): 171-178.' has now been published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. view article
ISAAC 20 year Anniversary Symposium
ISAAC celebrated its 20 year anniversary with a one day international symposium on asthma, eczema, rhinitis and the environment on 27 Jan 2011, in Auckland, New Zealand....read more
ISAAC Editorial in Thorax
ISAAC has once again been noted for its contributions to asthma epidemiology. In an editorial in Thorax, read more