Respiratory disease focus for 2024 'La Marató' telethon

Catalonia's annual fundraising telethon will focus on respiratory diseases this year. 

The 33rd edition of 'La Marató' from public broadcaster 3Cat will take place on Sunday, 15 December.  

Respiratory diseases are increasingly affecting the population due to environmental factors, such as pollution, and social factors, such as the increase in life expectancy.  

In Catalonia, two million people currently live with a respiratory health problem and one in four deaths is caused by a respiratory disease, according to figures provided by 3Cat. 

They can affect people of any age, but children and the elderly are particularly at risk. They lead to a decline in patients' quality of life, and are the second most common reason for admission to hospital. 

Respiratory diseases affect the lungs, the airways and organs and tissues necessary for breathing, with pollution and smoking among the main causes. They can also stem from infections (bacterial, viral, fungal), or genetic causes. 

2 million people affected in Catalonia 

According to data from the Department of Health, respiratory diseases affect two million people in Catalonia. They are the third leading cause of death after cancer and cardiovascular disease, causing 10,000 deaths in 2022, 23% of the total. 

In addition, they represent 10% of hospital admissions, 6% of consultations in primary care centers, and 25% of pediatric visits. 

This will be the second time that La Marató raises money for respiratory diseases, the first was in 2003. 

Since 1992, La Marató has raised €245m and financed 1,022 research projects, developed by 1,710 research teams and involving 10,000 researchers. 

La Marató 2023 raised €5.7m for sexual and reproductive health on the night, with the final figure to be confirmed at the end of March.

Mental health, Covid-19, rare diseases 

Each year, organizers choose a different area of medical research to raise money for. In 2022, the annual telethon raised over €8m for cardiovascular diseases, while the previous year over €9m was raised for mental health. 

In 2020, over €10m was raised for research on Covid-19, and in previous years La Marató focused on rare diseases, cancer and infectious diseases.