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.

Eileen, age 62, was diagnosed with asthma in her early 40's. She is white British and works at a university as a finance officer. She is divorced with three adult children. At first she found it very difficult to manage her life as she suffered from very frequent asthma attacks. However over time she was able to learn how to self-manage her asthma through recognising the triggers in good time and to self-medicate early enough to prevent things from worsening, and nowadays she rarely has an asthma attack.

Andreane, age 48, was diagnosed with asthma at age 33. She is white European, married and works as a personal assistant in a public sector organisation. Andreane was diagnosed with late onset asthma after visiting the GP about a persistent cough and chest infection that was difficult to clear. She has what is known as occupational asthma, due to environmental conditions at her workplace at the time she was diagnosed.

Margaret, age 62, was diagnosed with asthma at age 47. She is white British, married and worked as a statistician before retirement. Margaret had had a persistent cough for some time, and one day started feeling so breathless that she went to the hospital where she was told she had pneumonia, and was also suffering from asthma. At first she wasn't using the inhalers correctly and her condition was often unstable, but after a time she became more knowledgeable about how to manage the condition more effectively and is now rarely bothered by her asthma.

Charles, age 71, was diagnosed with asthma at age 40. He is white British and married with five adult children. He is now retired from his job as an engineer/manager in the car industry. Charles describes his asthma as very mild, and sometimes he forgets that he has the condition because he only experiences symptoms infrequently.

Eve, age 54, was diagnosed with asthma at age 36. She is white and originally from the United States but has lived in the UK for many years. She lives with her husband, and has one adult child, and also lost a child to cancer several years ago. Eve lost her sight as a very young child through a rare form of cancer. Eve experiences symptoms intermittently, but generally has her asthma well controlled using preventer and reliever inhalers. Triggers can include getting a cold, weather conditions, pollen, over exertion, and smoke or fumes.

Gail, age 55, was diagnosed with asthma at age 40. Gail is white British, and is married with two adult children. She works in a medical centre. Gail experienced her first asthma episode during a particularly stressful time at work and eventually went to the doctor to see why she couldn't shake off a persistent cough that she had developed. The doctor diagnosed asthma and she was prescribed a reliever inhaler. Gail recently gave up smoking and has found that overall she feels healthier and her chest and lungs feel much clearer.