David, age 69, was diagnosed with asthma at age 53. He is white British, married and has three adult children. He works as a government researcher. David's asthma is mainly triggered by cold weather and wind. During summer he generally doesn't experience symptoms. Since his diagnosis David's asthma has become worse and he has recently been diagnosed with COPD. He attributes the onset of his asthma directly to the fact that he was a smoker, and gave up smoking soon after the diagnosis.

Jane, age 59, was diagnosed with asthma at 54. She is white British and married with two adult children. She is a retired academic and civil servant. Jane has taken a while to get the right balance of medication and for her to understand and manage her condition herself. The main trigger for her asthma is getting a cold or viral infection. Jane uses a combination of traditional and complementary therapies to manage her symptoms.

Ann, age 55, was diagnosed with late onset asthma two years ago when she was 53. She is white British, married and has semi-retired from her work in health related research as she was recently made redundant. She is currently thinking about starting a new career teaching English. It took some while for a correct diagnosis to be given and during this time Ann became anxious and worried about what might be wrong with her. After initial diagnosis she was prescribed inhaled steroids but it took about six months to find the right dose and combination. Ann is still finding it difficult sometimes to adjust to some of the lifestyle changes that she has had to make since she was diagnosed.

Val, age 62, was diagnosed with asthma at 57 although looking back she now feels that she may have had it for a few years before that. She is white British and married with three adult step children. She is a self-employed researcher and lecturer. Val was surprised to find that asthma can start later in life, especially because she has always been very fit and healthy. She initially put her symptoms down to getting older.