Describing and quantifying asthma comorbidity [corrected]: a population study

Comorbidity Burden in Severe and Nonsevere Asthma: A Nationwide Observational Study (FINASTHMA)

BACKGROUND

Asthma, affecting more than 330 million people worldwide, is associated with a high level of morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic costs.

OBJECTIVE

In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the comorbidity burden in patients with severe asthma compared with nonsevere asthma and investigated the role of corticosteroid use on the risk of comorbidities.

METHODS

All adults (≥18 y) with a diagnosis of asthma (International Classification of Diseases-10th revision code J45.x) between 2014 and 2017 were identified and data were collected until 2018 from Finnish nationwide registers. Asthma was defined as continuously or transiently severe or nonsevere based on annual dispensed inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), oral corticosteroids (OCS), and hospitalizations.

RESULTS

Of 193,730 adult identified patients diagnosed with asthma, 86.3% had nonsevere, 8.1% transiently severe, and 5.6% continuously severe asthma. Excess prevalence of pneumonia was observed in continuously (22%) and transiently severe (14%) compared with nonsevere patients after adjusting for age and sex. Cataract, osteoporosis, obesity, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation were also more frequent in severe asthma patients. The ICS and/or OCS use contributed to the risk of several comorbidities in a dose-dependent manner, particularly pneumonia, osteoporosis, obesity, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. High OCS use and the presence of comorbidities were associated with increased health care resource use.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with severe asthma have a high burden of comorbidities, especially pneumonia. Many of the comorbidities have a strong dose-dependent association with ICS and OCS treatment, suggesting that corticosteroid doses should be carefully evaluated in clinical practice.

Basis of preventive and non-pharmacological interventions in asthma

Asthma is one of the most common atopic disorders in all stages of life. Its etiology is likely due to a complex interaction between genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Due to this, different non-pharmacological interventions can be implemented to reduce or alleviate the symptoms caused by this disease. Thus, the present narrative review aimed to analyze the preventive and non-pharmacological interventions such as physical exercise, physiotherapy, nutritional, ergonutritional, and psychological strategies in asthma treatment. To reach these aims, an extensive narrative review was conducted. The databases used were MedLine (PubMed), Cochrane (Wiley), Embase, PsychINFO, and CinAhl. Asthma is an immune-mediated inflammatory condition characterized by increased responsiveness to bronchoconstrictor stimuli. Different factors have been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma, however, the treatments used to reduce its incidence are more controversial. Physical activity is focused on the benefits that aerobic training can provide, while physiotherapy interventions recommend breathing exercises to improve the quality of life of patients. Nutritional interventions are targeted on implement diets that prioritize the consumption of fruits and vegetables and supplementation with antioxidants. Psychological interventions have been proposed as an essential non-pharmacological tool to reduce the emotional problems associated with asthma.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Asthma: Pathomechanisms of Their Association and Clinical Implications

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and asthma are chronic illnesses concomitantly present in a significant percentage of the population. Their comorbidity is associated with poor disease control and lower quality of life, thus imposing a substantial medical and economic burden worldwide. This review investigates the association between asthma and T2DM, in terms of pathogenesis, clinical outcomes, and therapeutic opportunities. Our review found an increased risk of asthma among diabetics, and vice versa. Having diabetes and poor glycemic control is associated with an increased rate of asthma exacerbations and increased mortality among those hospitalized for asthma exacerbations. The mechanisms postulated for the diabetes-asthma association include chronic low-grade inflammation, obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and possibly diabetic pneumopathy. Usage of metformin, which is the first-line drug for type 2 diabetes, was found to be associated with a decreased asthma occurrence, asthma exacerbations, and asthma-related hospitalizations. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists were also found to be associated with a lower occurrence of asthma exacerbations. Thiazolidinediones are also associated with lower rates of asthma exacerbations, but their clinical efficacy for the same was suggested to be limited. This literature review supports a partly causative association between asthma and diabetes. This comorbidity leads to poor patient compliance, worse disease outcomes, and poor quality of life. Thus, further studies are warranted to explore the prognostic implications, therapeutic opportunities, and specific clinical practice algorithms for patients with concurrent asthma and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Effects of benralizumab in a population of patients affected by severe eosinophilic asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: a real life study

BACKGROUND

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a frequent comorbidity in severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA), which may contribute to the loss of asthma control. CRSwNP and SEA share a T2-mediated mechanism and the use of some anti-asthma monoclonal antibodies has recently been extended to CRSwNP. Unlike dupilumab and omalizumab, benralizumab approval for CRSwNP is ongoing. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of benralizumab efficacy on SEA and on CRSwNP in patients affected by both pathologies in a real life setting.

METHODS

17 patients affected by both SEA and CRSwNP participated to our study. At baseline (T0) and at one year after benralizumab initiation (T1), all participants underwent  spirometry, exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), Asthma Control Test (ACT), nasal endoscopy with Nasal Polyp Score (NPS), nasal cytology and Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT 22).The continuous oral corticosteroid therapy (OCS), the number of year exacerbations and the need for sinus surgery were also evaluated  for each patient.

RESULTS

At T1, a marked reduction of SNOT-22, NPS, nasal eosinophils and neutrophils count were shown compared to T0. Moreover, at T1 ACT was significantly increased and FeNO, exacerbations/year and mean OCS dosage were significantly reduced compared to T0.

CONCLUSIONS

Our real-life study demonstrates the efficacy of benralizumab not only on SEA but also on nasal cytology and on nasal polyposis, confirming that patients affected by both SEA and CRSwNP may receive a considerable benefit from anti-IL5 receptor, treating both the comorbidities at once.

Nonrespiratory Diseases in Adults Without and With Asthma by Age at Asthma Diagnosis

BACKGROUND

Chronic nonrespiratory diseases are seemingly more prevalent in subjects with than without asthma, and asthma seems to differentiate by age of onset. However, studies with comparison of nonrespiratory diseases in subjects with and without asthma, considering asthma age of onset, are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the quantity and type of chronic nonrespiratory diseases in adults with and without asthma considering age at asthma diagnosis.

METHODS

In 2016, a FinEsS questionnaire was sent to 16,000 20- to 69-year-old adults randomly selected in Helsinki and Western Finland populations. Physician-diagnosed asthma was categorized to early (0-11), intermediate (12-39), and late-diagnosed (40-69 years).

RESULTS

A total of 8199 (51.5%) responded, and 842 (10.3%) reported asthma and age at diagnosis. In age and sex-adjusted binary logistic regression model, the most represented nonrespiratory disease was treated gastroesophageal reflux disease in early-diagnosed (odds ratio, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.17-3.19; P = .011) and osteoporosis in both intermediate-diagnosed (odds ratio, 3.45; 95% CI, 2.01-5.91; P < .001) and late-diagnosed asthma (odds ratio, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.77-4.79; P < .001), compared with subjects without asthma. In addition, gastroesophageal reflux disease, depression, sleep apnea, painful condition, and obesity were significantly more common in intermediate- and late-diagnosed asthma compared with without asthma, and similarly anxiety or panic disorder in intermediate-diagnosed and hypertension, severe cardiovascular disease, arrhythmia, and diabetes in late-diagnosed asthma. In age-adjusted analyses, having 3 or more nonrespiratory diseases was more common in intermediate (12.1%) and late-diagnosed asthma (36.2%) versus without asthma (10.4%) (both P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Nonrespiratory diseases were more common in adults with asthma than in adults without asthma. The type of nonrespiratory diseases differed, and their frequency increased by increasing age at asthma diagnosis.

Novel multimorbidity clusters in people with eczema and asthma: a population-based cluster analysis

Eczema and asthma are allergic diseases and two of the commonest chronic conditions in high-income countries. Their co-existence with other allergic conditions is common, but little research exists on wider multimorbidity with these conditions. We set out to identify and compare clusters of multimorbidity in people with eczema or asthma and people without. Using routinely-collected primary care data from the U.K. Clinical Research Practice Datalink GOLD, we identified adults ever having eczema (or asthma), and comparison groups never having eczema (or asthma). We derived clusters of multimorbidity from hierarchical cluster analysis of Jaccard distances between pairs of diagnostic categories estimated from mixed-effects logistic regressions. We analysed 434,422 individuals with eczema (58% female, median age 47 years) and 1,333,281 individuals without (55% female, 47 years), and 517,712 individuals with asthma (53% female, 44 years) and 1,601,210 individuals without (53% female, 45 years). Age at first morbidity, sex and having eczema/asthma affected the scope of multimorbidity, with women, older age and eczema/asthma being associated with larger morbidity clusters. Injuries, digestive, nervous system and mental health disorders were more commonly seen in eczema and asthma than control clusters. People with eczema and asthma of all ages and both sexes may experience greater multimorbidity than people without eczema and asthma, including conditions not previously recognised as contributing to their disease burden. This work highlights areas where there is a critical need for research addressing the burden and drivers of multimorbidity in order to inform strategies to reduce poor health outcomes.

Discerning asthma endotypes through comorbidity mapping

Asthma is a heterogeneous, complex syndrome, and identifying asthma endotypes has been challenging. We hypothesize that distinct endotypes of asthma arise in disparate genetic variation and life-time environmental exposure backgrounds, and that disease comorbidity patterns serve as a surrogate for such genetic and exposure variations. Here, we computationally discover 22 distinct comorbid disease patterns among individuals with asthma (asthma comorbidity subgroups) using diagnosis records for >151 M US residents, and re-identify 11 of the 22 subgroups in the much smaller UK Biobank. GWASs to discern asthma risk loci for individuals within each subgroup and in all subgroups combined reveal 109 independent risk loci, of which 52 are replicated in multi-ancestry meta-analysis across different ethnicity subsamples in UK Biobank, US BioVU, and BioBank Japan. Fourteen loci confer asthma risk in multiple subgroups and in all subgroups combined. Importantly, another six loci confer asthma risk in only one subgroup. The strength of association between asthma and each of 44 health-related phenotypes also varies dramatically across subgroups. This work reveals subpopulations of asthma patients distinguished by comorbidity patterns, asthma risk loci, gene expression, and health-related phenotypes, and so reveals different asthma endotypes.

Pharmacoeconomics analysis of using a fixed combination of budesonide/formoterol in patients with asthma in the health care system of the Russian Federation

Aim. To evaluate the budgetary impact of using budesonide + formoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler) as maintenance therapy in real clinical practice compared with standard therapy for asthma of varying severity: for mild asthma with on-demand salbutamol; for moderate and severe asthma with the drug salmeterol + fluticasone and salbutamol on demand. Materials and methods. A static mathematical model was built to assess the impact on the budget when introducing the drug budesonide + formoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler) in the treatment of asthma into clinical practice from the point of view of the state. Demographic data was taken from the official data of the Federal State Statistics Service. Direct medical costs included the cost of medicines, the cost of hospitalization of patients associated with the development of asthma exacerbations, and the cost of scheduled outpatient visits. Indirect costs considered the loss of GDP due to hospitalization of patients against the background of asthma exacerbations. A one-way sensitivity analysis was performed to confirm the robustness of the study results. Results. Assessment of direct costs in the treatment of mild, moderate and severe asthma showed that a gradual increase in the proportion of patients receiving the drug budesonide + formoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler) over the years to 5.5, 7.7 and 9.7% accordingly, led to an increase in the cost of pharmacotherapy over 3 years by 1.7 billion rubles, while direct non-drug costs associated with the treatment of complications that developed during the treatment of asthma decreased by 8.3 billion rubles. Thus, the reduction in total direct costs amounted to RUB 6.7 billion. At the same time, indirect costs decreased by 6.0 billion rubles. The total reduction in all costs (direct and indirect) when switching patients to budesonide + formoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler) amounted to 12.5 billion rubles. In addition, the use of the drug budesonide + formoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler) resulted in a decrease in the number of exacerbations: in the first year by 3137, in the second by 4393 and in the third by 5534 cases. A total of 13 064 asthma exacerbations were prevented over 3 years. Conclusion. Increasing the proportion of patients with asthma of varying severity receiving therapy with budesonide + formoterol (Symbicort Turbuhaler) will reduce the financial burden on both the healthcare system and the budgetary system.

Expert consensus recommendations for the management of asthma in older adults

Asthma is a public health problem in patients of any age, although there is still a tendency to erroneously assume that it is almost always confined to children and young people. Epidemiological studies indicate that, from the sixth decade of life, the prevalence of this disease in countries such as Spain reaches 6-10%, with a higher prevalence among women aged 64 to 75 years. In addition, two-thirds of asthma deaths occur at this stage of life, resulting in a substantial number of hospital admissions, longer hospital stays and, from a finance point of view, significant direct economic costs. Asthma in older adults (65 years or older) is now a matter of great concern, the reality of which is underestimated and undertreated. It is therefore essential to establish appropriate recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma in the aging population. This consensus, which brings together the latest evidence available, was conceived with this objective. The proposed recommendations/conclusions are the result of a nominal consensus developed throughout 2019 and validated by panellists in successive rounds of voting.

Association between Asthma and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Mechanisms and Impact on Asthma Control-A Literature Review

The study aimed to analyze the scientific production on the association between asthma and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in adults, the mechanisms that explain this association, and its impact on asthma control. A literature review of scientific articles indexed in the MEDLINE/PUBMED, BVS, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases was carried out, considering publications from January 2009 to December 2019, using the following descriptors: "asthma", "type 2 diabetes", "adult," and "association". Of 962 articles found, 18 were included because they met the eligibility criteria. It is suggested that the association between asthma and T2DM is caused by low-grade systemic inflammation (7 articles) or the use of corticosteroids (7 articles). It is noticed that there is a limited scientific production regarding the consequences of this association for the control of asthma (5 articles). It is concluded that asthma and T2DM are two common chronic conditions of increasing prevalence and that often coexist in the same patient. It is suggested that this coexistence worsens asthma control. Therefore, the study may support public policies and clinical health practices that value the approach of comorbidities associated with asthma such as T2DM, in order to minimize additional health risks and reduce the quality of life.

The Interplay Between Asthma and Other Diseases: Role of Ca2+/cAMP Signalling

OBJECTIVE

Asthma is correlated with a higher risk of manifesting other diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, psychiatric and neurological diseases, and cancer. Therefore, revealing this interplay between asthma and these illnesses may provide novel insights into their pathogenesis.

RESULTS

It is highly debated that dysregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis is involved in the pathogenesis of these maladies. Not surprisingly, calcium (Ca2+) channel blockers (CCBs), classically used as antihypertensive medicines, have been demonstrating off-label effects such as alleviating asthma symptoms, in addition to antidiabetic, antiobesity, anticancer and antineurodegenerative effects. Our studies about Ca2+/cAMP signalling may shed some new light on this field.

CONCLUSION

Thus, considering that asthma and associated illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases have become highly prevalent medical problems in the world, the comprehension of this interplay between asthma and other disorders could improve drug therapy.

The association of asthma and its subgroups with osteoporosis: a cross-sectional study using KoGES HEXA data

Background

A few studies have reported the association between asthma and osteoporosis. We aimed to analyze the association of asthma and its subgroups with osteoporosis in the Korean adult population.

Methods

We used the health examinee (HEXA) data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) obtained between 2004 and 2016. We included 162,579 participants (n = 3,160 with asthma; n = 159,419 controls) who reported their previous histories of asthma and osteoporosis. The participants were categorized into 3 groups based on asthma management: participants who did not need further treatment due to controlled symptoms (well controlled); participants with ongoing treatment (being treated); participants who were not treated even though they had symptoms (not being treated). Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for osteoporosis. Subgroup analyses for age and sex were conducted.

Results

The prevalence of osteoporosis was higher in patients with asthma (13.6%) than in controls (6.8%). In the full-adjusted model, the aORs for osteoporosis were 1.74 (95% CI 1.55-1.94, P < 0.001) in patients with asthma compared to controls. There were consistent findings across the age and sex subgroups. The aORs for osteoporosis were 1.43 (95% CI 1.10-1.86, P = 0.008) in the well-controlled asthma group; 1.55 (95% CI 1.28-1.89, P < 0.001) in the being treated asthma group; and 1.96 (95% CI 1.66-2.31, P < 0.001) in the not being treated asthma group compared to the control group.

Conclusion

Asthma was associated with osteoporosis in the Korean adult population. Patients with asthma not being treated showed the highest ORs for osteoporosis.

Childhood asthma increases respiratory morbidity, but not all-cause mortality in adulthood: The Busselton Health Study

BACKGROUND

Long-term childhood asthma studies that investigate adult outcomes other than lung function are lacking. This study examines the associations of childhood asthma and the occurrence of respiratory events and all-cause mortality in adulthood.

METHODS

A cohort of 4430 school children (aged to 17 years) who attended the Busselton Health Study between 1967 and 1983 were analysed. Self-reported history of asthma was determined using questionnaires. Participants were followed until 2014 for respiratory disease-related events (hospital admissions or death) and all-cause mortality using the Western Australia Data Linkage System. Cox regression models were used to investigate the impact of childhood asthma on respiratory events and all-cause mortality in adulthood. A subgroup of 2153 participants who re-attended a survey in young adulthood was also analysed.

RESULTS

A total of 462 (10%) of the cohort had childhood asthma. During follow-up 791 participants experienced a respiratory event and 140 participants died. Childhood asthma was associated with an increased risk of respiratory events in adulthood (unadjusted HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.52 to 2.23; P < 0.0001). The result remained significant after adjusting for adult-onset asthma, FEV₁, body mass index, smoking, dusty job, hay fever, and respiratory symptoms (adjusted HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.64; P = 0.0247). Childhood asthma was not associated with all-cause mortality in adulthood (unadjusted HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.84; P = 0.7821).

CONCLUSION

Childhood asthma is associated with increased risk of respiratory disease-related hospital admissions and death but not all-cause mortality in adulthood.

The risk of osteoporosis in patients with asthma

It is well-known that use of continuous systemic corticosteroids (SG) affects bone metabolism, bone mineral density (BMD), and ultimately increases the risk of osteoporosis. In patients with asthma, on the other hand, the effects of long-term high-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on BMD and risk of osteoporotic fractures is controversial. The reasons for this inconsistency could be explained by the fact that only few long-term studies investigating the effect of ICS in patients with asthma exist. The studies are characterized by different study designs and duration of ICS exposure, small study populations, and differences between the used ICS. The aim of this article is to unravel which factors, if any, that contribute to an increased risk of osteoporosis in patients with asthma and to summarize the evidence regarding adverse effects of ICS on bone metabolism, BMD and osteoporotic fractures in patients with asthma.

Lifetime overweight and adult asthma: 1978/1979 Ribeirão Preto Birth Cohort, São Paulo, Brazil

Studies focusing on obesity and asthma frequently consider the weight at a given time; thus, modeling pathways through lifetime overweight may contribute to elucidate temporal aspects in this relationship. This study modeled the pathways in the association of lifetime overweight with asthma in adult life, using data from the 1978/1979 Birth Cohort, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (n = 2,063) at birth (baseline), school age (9/11 years) and adult age (23/25 years). A theoretical model was proposed to explore the effects of lifetime overweight on asthma in adult life analyzed by structural equation modeling. Parental obesity (SC - standardized coefficenttotal = 0.211, p < 0.001; SCdirect = 0.115, p = 0.007) and overweight at school age (SCtotal = 0.565, p < 0.0001; SCdirect = 0.565, p < 0.0001) were associated with overweight in adult life. Parental obesity (SCdirect = 0.105, p = 0.047) and nutritional status at birth (SCtotal = -0.124, p = 0.009; SCdirect = -0.131, p = 0.007) were associated with asthma in adult life. A higher "current adult socieconomic situation" was inversely associated to overweight (SCdirect = -0.171, p = 0.020) and to asthma in adult life (SCtotal = -0.179, p = 0.041; SCdirect = -0.182, p = 0.039). Parental obesity showed a transgenerational effect in weight, triggering to childhood and adulthood overweight. Parallel to underweight at birth, parental obesity was also a risk to asthma in adult life. While, the socioeconomic status in adult life protected from both, overweight and asthma.

Evidence for similarity in symptoms and mechanism: The extra-pulmonary symptoms of severe asthma and the polysymptomatic presentation of fibromyalgia

BACKGROUND

Asthma is a disease of the lung and a systemic disease. Functional disorders are associated with multiple systemic abnormalities that have been explained by complexity models. The aim was to test the similarity in type and aetiology between the extra-pulmonary symptoms of severe asthma and the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

METHODS

One Hundred patients recruited from a specialist severe asthma clinic and 1751 people reporting different functional disorder diagnoses recruited via the internet completed the same 60-item questionnaire. Symptom patterns were compared between groups using a new measure, the symptom pattern similarity index where 0 = no relationship, 1 = identical patterns between groups.

RESULTS

Severe asthma patients report numerous extra-pulmonary symptoms. The similarity index between the symptom pattern of the asthma patients with other groups was irritable bowel syndrome = 0.54, chronic fatigue syndrome = 0.69, and fibromyalgia = 0.75. The index between fibromyalgia and asthma patients with the most and least frequent extra-pulmonary symptoms was 0.81 and 0.55 respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with severe asthma have numerous extra-pulmonary symptoms similar in type and pattern to the symptoms of fibromyalgia. The similarity of the symptom pattern between asthma and fibromyalgia increases as the number of extra-pulmonary symptoms increases as predicted by network theory and previously shown to be the case with other functional disorders. These findings support the hypothesis that functional disorders and extra-pulmonary asthma symptoms have a common complexity or network aetiology. Evidence based behavioural interventions for fibromyalgia may be helpful for patients with severe asthma reporting extra-pulmonary symptoms.

Age- and sex-specific prevalence of chronic comorbidity in adult patients with asthma: A real-life study

The presence of comorbidity can be associated with poorer asthma outcomes. Previous prevalence studies focused on a limited selection of comorbid conditions in asthma only. We aimed to determine age- and sex-specific prevalence estimates for the full range of chronic comorbid conditions in adult asthma patients by performing a retrospective cohort study based on 32,787 medical records of patients aged ≥16 years with asthma from 179 general practices in the Netherlands. Age- and sex-specific prevalence estimates of 76 chronic comorbidities and 14 disease categories based on International Classification of Primary Care codes were determined. Chronic comorbidity was present in 65.3% of male asthma patients and 72.8% of female asthma patients, with female patients having a higher mean (SD) of 2.0 (2.1) comorbidities compared to male patients (1.7 (2.0)). This mean increased to 5.0 (2.7) conditions in the 75+ age group. Most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (20.1%), osteoarthritis (11.5%), eczema (11.5%) and dyspepsia (10.7%). Compared to male asthma patients, female asthma patients showed higher odds for the presence of other chronic conditions in eight disease categories. Neurological (odds ratio [OR]; 95% confidence interval 2.01; 1.76-2.29), blood forming/lymphatics (OR 1.83; 1.38-2.42) and musculoskeletal diseases (OR 1.82; 1.69-1.95) showed the highest association with female sex. In conclusion, the presence of chronic comorbidity is the norm in adults with asthma and it is more prevalent in female than in male asthma patients. The odds of having a specific comorbid condition may differ between the sexes. Attention in guidelines on how to handle comorbidities may lead to a more targeted treatment for comorbidities and more patient-centred asthma management.

Epidemiology of Asthma in Children and Adults

Asthma is a globally significant non-communicable disease with major public health consequences for both children and adults, including high morbidity, and mortality in severe cases. We have summarized the evidence on asthma trends, environmental determinants, and long-term impacts while comparing these epidemiological features across childhood asthma and adult asthma. While asthma incidence and prevalence are higher in children, morbidity, and mortality are higher in adults. Childhood asthma is more common in boys while adult asthma is more common in women, and the reversal of this sex difference in prevalence occurs around puberty suggesting sex hormones may play a role in the etiology of asthma. The global epidemic of asthma that has been observed in both children and adults is still continuing, especially in low to middle income countries, although it has subsided in some developed countries. As a heterogeneous disease, distinct asthma phenotypes, and endotypes need to be adequately characterized to develop more accurate and meaningful definitions for use in research and clinical settings. This may be facilitated by new clustering techniques such as latent class analysis, and computational phenotyping methods are being developed to retrieve information from electronic health records using natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to assist in the early diagnosis of asthma. While some important environmental determinants that trigger asthma are well-established, more work is needed to define the role of environmental exposures in the development of asthma in both children and adults. There is increasing evidence that investigation into possible gene-by-environment and environment-by-environment interactions may help to better uncover the determinants of asthma. Therefore, there is an urgent need to further investigate the interrelationship between environmental and genetic determinants to identify high risk groups and key modifiable exposures. For children, asthma may impair airway development and reduce maximally attained lung function, and these lung function deficits may persist into adulthood without additional progressive loss. Adult asthma may accelerate lung function decline and increase the risk of fixed airflow obstruction, with the effect of early onset asthma being greater than late onset asthma. Therefore, in managing asthma, our focus going forward should be firmly on improving not only short-term symptoms, but also the long-term respiratory and other health outcomes.

Severe, eosinophilic asthma in primary care in Canada: a longitudinal study of the clinical burden and economic impact based on linked electronic medical record data

Background

Stratification of patients with severe asthma by blood eosinophil counts predicts responders to anti-interleukin (IL)-5 (mepolizumab and reslizumab) and anti-IL-5 receptor α (benralizumab) therapies. This study characterized patients with severe asthma who could qualify for these biologics in a primary care setting.

Methods

We retrospectively selected patients from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2014, using a linked electronic medical records (EMR) database (IMS Evidence 360 EMR Canada) for > 950,000 patients in primary care in Ontario, Canada. Patients aged ≥ 12 years with ≥ 2 documented asthma diagnoses were identified as having severe asthma based on prescriptions for high-dosage inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus either a leukotriene receptor antagonist, long-acting β₂-agonist (LABA), or theophylline filled on the same day. Patients’ asthma was considered severe also if they received a prescription for ICS with oral corticosteroids (OCS) or an additional prescription for omalizumab. Patient characteristics, asthma-related medications, and blood eosinophil counts were captured using observed care patterns for the year prior to ICS/LABA and/or OCS prescription. Health care resource use (HCRU) and costs were captured throughout the 1-year follow-up period.

Results

We identified 212 patients who met the criteria for severe asthma. These patients required an average of 6.5 physician visits during the 1-year follow-up period (95% confidence interval 5.7–7.3), and 20 (9%) were referred to respiratory specialists. Overall, 56 patients (26%) with severe asthma had complete blood counts, of whom 23 (41%) had blood eosinophil counts ≥ 300 cells/μL and might be considered for anti-eosinophil therapies. Patients with severe asthma and blood eosinophil counts ≥ 300 cells/μL had more respiratory specialist referrals (17% vs. 12%) than patients with blood eosinophils < 300 cells/μL.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that during 2010–2014, Ontario primary care patients with severe asthma and high blood eosinophil counts had greater HRCU than those with lower counts. Approximately 41% of patients with severe asthma could qualify for anti-eosinophil drugs based on blood eosinophil counts. However, the eosinophilic status of most patients was unknown. It is appropriate to increase awareness of the use of blood eosinophil counts to identify patients who could be considered for anti-eosinophil therapies.

Age and Sex Associations with Systemic Corticosteroid-Induced Morbidity in Asthma

BACKGROUND

Treatment of severe asthma may include high-dose systemic corticosteroid therapy, which is associated with substantial comorbidity. There is evidence to suggest that this burden is not evenly distributed across age, sex, and corticosteroid exposure levels.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the associations between age, sex, comorbidity, and patterns of health care cost across groups differentiated by corticosteroid exposure.

METHODS

Patients with severe asthma (n = 808) were matched by age and sex with patients with mild/moderate asthma (n = 3975) and nonasthma control subjects (n = 2412) from the Optimum Patient Care Research Database. Regression analysis was used to investigate the odds of a number of corticosteroid-induced comorbidities as it varied by cohort, age group, and sex. Prescribed drugs and publicly funded health care activity were monetized and annual costs per patient estimated.

RESULTS

Patients aged 60 years or younger with high oral corticosteroid (OCS) exposure had greater odds of osteopenia, osteoporosis, glaucoma, dyspeptic disorders, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, hypertension, and obesity (P < .01) relative to those with mild/moderate asthma (low OCS exposure) as well as to those with no asthma. This difference in odds was much less evident in older patients. Sex-related differences for the odds of most comorbidities related to high-dose OCS were also observed. This differential pattern of comorbidity prevalence was reflected in mean health care costs per patient per year.

CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrate important differential prevalence of corticosteroid-induced morbidity by age and sex, which is paralleled by differences in health care costs. This is important for clinicians in better understanding the risks of placing different age groups or sexes on systemic corticosteroids.

Comorbidity, disease burden and mortality across age groups in a Swedish primary care asthma population: An epidemiological register study (PACEHR)

BACKGROUND

Asthma is often associated with other diseases. To identify and manage comorbidities is important, as these conditions may increase the disease burden.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the prevalence of comorbidities, disease burden and mortality across age groups in a large Swedish primary care real-life asthma population.

METHODS

Observational cohort study of asthma patients, all ages, identified from electronic medical records by ICD-10-CM code, data from 36 primary care centers. Data were linked to national mandatory Swedish health registers. Comorbidities were identified by ICD-10-CM codes and collected from electronic medical records and the National Patient Registers, mortality data from the Cause of Death Register. Exacerbations were defined as hospitalizations due to asthma, and/or emergency visits at hospital and/or prescription claims of oral steroids.

RESULTS

In total 33,468 patients (58% women) were included. The most prevalent comorbidities were acute upper respiratory tract infection (53%), rhinitis (25%), acute lower respiratory tract infection (25%), hypertension (21%), anxiety and depression (20%). The comorbidities associated with highest risk for an exacerbation were COPD OR 1.98 (95%CI: 1.80-2.19), nasal polyps OR 1.75 (95%CI: 1.49-2.05) and rhinitis OR 1.52 (95%CI: 1.41-1.63). All-cause mortality was similar to the Swedish population, 1011 deaths per 100,000 person/year compared with 1058 deaths (standardized risk = 0.99 [95%CI:0.95-1.04]). The pulmonary related death rate was greater in the study population versus the Swedish population (122 versus 72 per 100,000person/year).

CONCLUSION

Comorbid disease was frequent in this large real-life asthma population with an impact on exacerbations. To identify and treat comorbidities with impact on asthma outcomes are essential to improve asthma care.

Association of Asthma with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND

T_H1 and T_H2 cells have counterregulatory relationships. However, the relationship between asthma, a T_H2-predominant condition, and risk of systemic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a T_H1 condition, is poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to determine whether asthma was associated with increased risks of incident RA among adults.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective population-based case-control study that examined existing incident RA cases and controls matched by age, sex, and registration year from the general population in Olmsted County, Minnesota, between January 2002 and December 2007. We performed comprehensive medical record reviews to ascertain asthma status using predetermined asthma criteria. The frequency of a history of asthma before the index date was compared between cases and controls. Logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounding factors.

RESULTS

We enrolled 221 RA cases and 218 controls. Of the 221 RA cases, 156 (70.6%) were females, 207 (93.7%) were white, the median age at the index date was 52.5 years, and 53 (24.0%) had a history of asthma. Controls had similar characteristics except that 35 of 218 controls (16.1%) had a history of asthma. After adjustment for sex, age, smoking, body mass index, socioeconomic status, and comorbidity, asthma was significantly associated with increased risks of RA (adjusted odds ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.05-2.90; P = .03).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the counterregulatory relationship between T_H1 and T_H2 cells, patients with asthma had a significantly higher risk of developing RA than healthy individuals.

Comorbidities in adults with asthma: Population-based cross-sectional analysis of 1.4 million adults in Scotland

BACKGROUND

Comorbidity in people with asthma can significantly increase asthma morbidity and lower adherence to asthma guidelines.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to comprehensively measure the prevalence of physical and mental health comorbidities in adults with asthma using a large nationally representative population.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis of routine primary care electronic medical records for 1 424 378 adults in the UK, examining the prevalence of 39 comorbidities in people with and without asthma, before and after adjustment for age, sex, social deprivation and smoking status using logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of 39 comorbidities measured, 36 (92%) were significantly more common in adults with asthma; 62.6% of adults with asthma had ≥1 comorbidity vs 46.2% of those without, and 16.3% had ≥4 comorbidities vs 8.7% of those without. Comorbidities with the largest absolute increase in prevalence in adults with asthma were as follows: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (13.4% vs 3.1%), depression (17.3% vs 9.1%), painful conditions (15.4% vs 8.4%) and dyspepsia (10.9% vs 5.2%). Comorbidities with the largest relative difference in adults with asthma compared to those without were as follows: COPD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 5.65, 95% CI 5.52-5.79), bronchiectasis (aOR 4.65, 95% CI 4.26-5.08), eczema/psoriasis (aOR 3.30, 95% CI 3.14-3.48), dyspepsia (aOR 2.20, 95% CI 2.15-2.25) and chronic sinusitis (aOR 2.12, 95% CI 1.99-2.26). Depression and anxiety were more common in adults with asthma (aOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.57-1.63, and aOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.48-1.57, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Physical and mental health comorbidities are the norm in adults with asthma. Appropriate recognition and management should form part of routine asthma care.

Asthma management among allergists in Italy: results from a survey

Background

In Europe more than 50% of asthmatic treated patients have not well-controlled asthma. Asthma affects about 2.5 million of patients in Italy.

Aims and objectives

The present survey aims at investigating how Italian allergists approach asthmatic patients, in order to highlight pitfalls and unmet needs concerning real-life asthma management.

Methods

An anonymous 16 item web questionnaire was available (April–October 2015) to all allergists who visited the web site of SIAAIC (Società Italiana di Allergologia, Asma Immunologia Clinica). Those who wished to give their contribution had the opportunity to answer about epidemiology, risk factors, treatment approaches, and adherence to therapy.

Results

One hundred and seventy four allergists answered the survey. 54% of them reported up to 10 patient visits per week and 35.3% between 10 and 30. The most frequent reasons of follow up visits are routine check-up (56.5% of allergists), and worsening of symptoms (41% of allergists). Nocturnal apnoeas, gastro-esophageal reflux and obesity are the most important comorbidities/risk factors of poorly controlled asthma. Bronchial hyper-responsiveness, increased NO levels and reduced exercise tolerance are the most important indicators of asthma severity. Concerning therapy, ICS combined with LABA is the treatment of choice suitable for the majority of patients. A rapid onset of action and a flexible ICS dosage are indicated as the optimal characteristics for achieving the therapeutic goals. Poor adherence to therapy is an important reason for symptom worsening for the majority of allergists. Complex dosage regimens and economic aspects are considered the most important factors impacting on adherence.

Conclusions

Allergists are involved in the management of asthma, regularly seeing their patients. Co-morbidities are frequent in asthmatic patients and may impact negatively on disease control, thus identifying patients who need a more careful and strict monitoring. Airway hyper-responsiveness to methacholine challenge test and nitric oxide are considered important indicators of asthma severity. The combination of LABA and inhaled steroids is considered the treatment of choice for most asthmatic patients, in keeping with broad evidence indicating that the combination therapy is more effective and rapid in gaining asthma control than inhaled corticosteroids alone. Adherence to medication regimens is considered of essence to achieve the therapeutic goals.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12948-017-0067-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Excess medical costs in patients with asthma and the role of comorbidity

Asthmatic patients frequently have comorbidities, but the role of comorbidities in the economic burden of asthma is unclear. We examined the excess direct medical costs, including asthma- and comorbidity-related costs, in patients with asthma.We created a propensity score-matched cohort of patients newly diagnosed with asthma and non-asthmatic comparison subjects, both aged 5-55 years, from health administrative data (1997-2012) in British Columbia, Canada. Health services use records were categorised into 16 major disease categories based on International Classification of Diseases codes. Excess costs (in 2013 Canadian dollars ($)) were estimated as the adjusted difference in direct medical costs between the two groups.Average overall excess costs were estimated at $1058/person-year (95% CI 1006-1110), of which $134 (95% CI 132-136) was attributable to asthma and $689 (95% CI 649-730) to major comorbidity classes. Psychiatric disorders were the largest component of excess comorbidity costs, followed by digestive disorders, diseases of the nervous system, and respiratory diseases other than asthma. Comorbidity-attributable excess costs greatly increased with age but did not increase over the time course of asthma.These findings suggest that both asthma and comorbidity-related outcomes should be considered in formulating evidence-based policies and guidelines for asthma management.

Investigating asthma comorbidities: a systematic scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Asthma is a common long-term disorder with a number of related comorbid conditions, which may affect asthma outcomes. There is a need for greater appreciation for understanding how these comorbidities interact with asthma in order to improve asthma outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

To systematically identify and map out key asthma comorbidities.

METHODS

We will systematically search the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO and Google Scholar. Additional literature will be identified by searching the reference list of identified eligible studies and by searching the repositories of international conference proceedings, including ISI Conference Proceeding Citation Index, and ZETOC (British Library).

DISSEMINATION

The findings from this systematic scoping review will be reported at scientific meetings and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Comorbidities and elevated IL-6 associate with negative outcome in adult-onset asthma

The effect of systemic inflammation and comorbidities on treatment and outcome of adult-onset asthma remains unknown and is the objective of this study.As part of the Seinäjoki Adult Asthma Study (SAAS) with a 12-year follow-up, serum interleukin (IL)-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and lung function were measured and clinical information on comorbidities and medication collected from 170 patients with adult-onset asthma without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.At follow-up visit, 54% of the patients had systemic inflammation as indicated by elevated IL-6 or hsCRP, 58% had at least one comorbidity and 30% at least two comorbidities (other than asthma related). Patients with systemic inflammation were treated with higher dose of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and they had lower lung function and higher blood neutrophils compared with patients without. Patients having ≥2 comorbidities had lower Asthma Control Test score and this association remained significant in adjusted analysis. Patients with both systemic inflammation and comorbidities showed poorest outcome of asthma. In multivariate regression analysis, high ICS dose was predicted by elevated IL-6, elevated blood neutrophils and eosinophils and poorer lung function at baseline and follow-up.Altogether, in patients with adult-onset asthma, elevated IL-6 was associated with use of high-dose ICS while multi-morbidity was linked to worse symptoms of asthma.

Factors associated with quality of life in patients with severe asthma: the impact of pharmacotherapy

OBJECTIVE:

To identify, characterize, and quantify associations of various factors with quality of life (QoL) in patients with asthma, according to the pharmacotherapy employed.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional study involving 49 patients (≥ 18 years of age) with severe uncontrolled or refractory asthma treated at a specialized outpatient clinic of the Brazilian Unified Health Care System, regularly using high doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICs) or other medications, and presenting comorbidities. At a single time point, QoL was assessed with the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). The overall AQLQ score and those of its domains were correlated with demographic variables (gender and age); Asthma Control Questionnaire score; pharmacotherapy (initial IC dose, inhaler devices, and polytherapy); and comorbidities.

RESULTS:

Better AQLQ scores were associated with asthma control-overall (OR = 0.38; 95% CI: 0.004-0.341; p < 0.001), "symptoms" domain (OR = 0.086; 95% CI: 0.016-0.476; p = 0.001), and "emotional function" domain (OR = 0.086; 95% CI: 0.016-0.476; p = 0.001)-and with IC dose ≤ 800 µg-"activity limitation" domain (OR = 0.249; 95% CI: 0.070-0.885; p = 0.029). Worse AQLQ scores were associated with polytherapy-"activity limitation" domain (OR = 3.651; 95% CI: 1.061-12.561; p = 0.036)-and number of comorbidities ≤ 5-"environmental stimuli" domain (OR = 5.042; 95% CI: 1.316-19.317; p = 0.015).

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results, the importance of this issue, and the lack of studies taking pharmacotherapy into consideration warrant longitudinal studies to establish a causal relationship between the identified factors and QoL in asthma patients.

Prevalence of Comorbidities in Asthma and Nonasthma Patients: A Meta-analysis

This study compares the prevalence rates of comorbidities between asthma and nonasthma control patients reported in the literature.Literature was searched in several electronic databases. After the selection of studies by following précised eligibility criteria, meta-analyses of odds ratios were carried out with subgroup and sensitivity analyses.Eleven studies studying 117,548 asthma patients compared with 443,948 non-asthma controls were included in the meta-analysis. The prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities (odds ratio (OR): [95% CI] 1.90 [1.70, 2.14]; P < 0.00001), cerebrovascular comorbidities (OR 1.44 [1.29, 1.60]; P < 0.00001), obesity (OR 1.51 [1.14, 2.01]; P < 0.00001), hypertension (OR 1.66 [1.47, 1.88]; P < 0.00001, diabetes (OR 1.25 [1.08, 1.44]; P < 0.00001), other metabolic and endocrine comorbidities (OR 1.60 [1.40, 1.83]; P < 0.00001), psychiatric and neurological comorbidities (OR 1.62 [1.44, 1.82]; P < 0.00001), gut and urinary comorbidities (OR 1.91 [1.47, 2.49]; P < 0.00001),), cancer (OR 1.17 [1.10, 1.25]; P < 0.00001), and respiratory comorbidities (OR 5.60 [4.22, 7.44]; P < 0.00001) were significantly higher in the asthma patients in comparison with nonasthma controls.Asthma is associated with significantly higher comorbidities including cardio-/cerebrovascular diseases, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, psychiatric and neurological comorbidities, gut and urinary conditions, cancer, and respiratory problems other than asthma. Respiratory comorbidities are found 5 times more prevalent in asthma than in non-asthma patients.

Emerging Comorbidities in Adult Asthma: Risks, Clinical Associations, and Mechanisms

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with many phenotypes, and age at disease onset is an important factor in separating the phenotypes. Most studies with asthma have been performed in patients being otherwise healthy. However, in real life, comorbid diseases are very common in adult patients. We review here the emerging comorbid conditions to asthma such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2), and cardiac and psychiatric diseases. Their role as risk factors for incident asthma and whether they affect clinical asthma are evaluated. Obesity, independently or as a part of metabolic syndrome, DM2, and depression are risk factors for incident asthma. In contrast, the effects of comorbidities on clinical asthma are less well-known and mostly studies are lacking. Cross-sectional studies in obese asthmatics suggest that they may have less well controlled asthma and worse lung function. However, no long-term clinical follow-up studies with these comorbidities and asthma were identified. These emerging comorbidities often occur in the same multimorbid adult patient and may have in common metabolic pathways and inflammatory or other alterations such as early life exposures, systemic inflammation, inflammasome, adipokines, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, lung mechanics, mitochondrial dysfunction, disturbed nitric oxide metabolism, and leukotrienes.

Asthma, COPD and comorbidities in elderly people

Co-morbidities are a significant problem in the elderly population but are rarely presented and analyzed for interdependencies among the various coexisting chronic diseases.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to present a profile of comorbidities in elderly patients with and without asthma and COPD.

METHODS

Respondents were recruited at 20 sites in Poland. Stratified random sampling from patient databases resulted in 15,973 patients older than 60 years of age. A retrospective analysis of medical history and ICD-10 codes was performed. In addition, patients underwent a spirometry test with a bronchial reversibility test and were administered questionnaires on the prevalence of chronic diseases by doctors.

RESULTS

The study population consisted of 1023 asthmatic patients, 1084 patients with COPD and 1076 control subjects without any signs of bronchoconstriction and with correct spirometry. Patients with asthma exhibited a similar distribution of cardiovascular and metabolic co-morbidities as the control group. However, asthmatic patients had a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension and depression with an odds ratio (OR) = 1.48 (95% CI: 1.38-1.62) and OR = 1.52 (95% CI: 1.44-1.68), respectively. Coronary disease (OR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.97-2.33), cor pulmonale (OR = 3.1; 95% CI: 2.87-3.22) and heart failure (OR = 2.71; 95% CI: 2.64-3.11) were predominantly observed in patients with COPD. Patients with severe asthma exhibited a greater predisposition to cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric diseases.

CONCLUSION

Asthma coexisted frequently with arterial hypertension and depression in elderly patients. Patients with COPD have a more exaggerated profile of coexisting diseases, specifically cardiovascular problems.

The epidemiology of asthma and its comorbidities in Poland--Health problems of patients with severe asthma as evidenced in the Province of Lodz

INTRODUCTION

Population studies supply interesting data regarding the epidemiology, comorbidity and risk factors of asthma, which have direct clinical implications for patients.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the work was to evaluate the degree of severity of asthma in the studied group, the levels of anti-asthma treatment, the prevalence of asthma comorbidities and their influence on the clinical course of the illness.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study encompassed 451 participants: 52.11% were asthma patients (study group) and 47.89% were healthy subjects (controls). Respiratory function tests, ACT™ test and skin prick tests were performed.

RESULTS

Asthma severity was mild in 14.89%, moderate in 49.36% and severe in 35.74%. Oral GCS were used by 29%, inhalers 44%, LABA 68%, SABA 67%, LAMA 6%, SAMA 14% and MX 16%. Rhinitis and allergy were significantly more common in patients. GERD and neurological diseases were risk factors for asthma, and GERD significantly intensified the risk of severe asthma. GERD, atherosclerosis, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and other cardiac diseases, lipid disorders, COPD, and the presence of any neoplastic disease significantly worsened the degree of asthma control.

DISCUSSION

Severe asthma was a significant clinical issue in over 35% of cases. The most commonly-used group of drugs were LABAs, while inhaled GCS and LAMA were uncommon, especially among severe cases. A significant problem was the high percentage of systemic GCS used by severe cases. The most important risk factor for asthma, including its severe form, is GERD. Numerous comorbid conditions significantly worsen the degree of asthma control.

Chronic Comorbidities Contribute to the Burden and Costs of Persistent Asthma

BACKGROUND

We aimed to study the prevalence of chronic comorbidities in asthma patients and the costs of health care use associated with asthma with comorbidities.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We analysed the prevalence of the four most common chronic diseases in asthma patients in 2008-2014 in Finland. Prevalence of coronary artery disease, diabetes and dyslipidaemia, hypertension, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatic diseases, and severe psychiatric disease was studied by register of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. The costs of health care services were collected from the registries maintained by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

RESULTS

Prevalence of asthma was 4.6% in 2014. Diabetes was among the four most common comorbidities in all the age groups. The other common comorbidities were hypertension (≥46 years; 12.9-37.6%), severe psychiatric disorders (age groups of 16-59 years; 1.4-3.5%), and ischaemic heart disease (≥60 years; 10-25%). In patients with both asthma and diabetes, the costs of hospitalization were approximately 169% compared with patients with asthma alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence of asthma increases by tenfold when aging. The comorbidity diversity and rate are age-dependent. Prevalence of diabetes as comorbidity in asthma has increased. Costs of hospitalizations in asthma approximately double with chronic comorbidities.

Are asthmatics enrolled in randomized trials representative of real-life outpatients?

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

This study was aimed at exploring to what extent populations enrolled in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of inhalation combination treatment for mild/moderate asthma in adults are fully representative of 'real-life' populations. The following is a retrospective analysis of the clinical records of outpatient subjects with an ascertained diagnosis of asthma.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed. Stable conditions, such as smoking habit and chronic diseases other than asthma, were identified as exclusion criteria for RCTs. The selected criteria were then applied to asthmatic outpatients, yielding a population that was potentially eligible for RCTs.

RESULTS

Out of 1,909 subjects, 824 (43.2%) met at least one of the exclusion criteria for RCTs. Cigarette smoking (occurring in 34.3% of the entire population), lung diseases other than asthma (5.0%), anxiety and depression (3.3%), arrhythmias (2.3%), and coronary artery disease (1.2%) would have been the most frequent causes for exclusion from RCTs. The proportion of patients excluded from RCTs appears to increase with age, reaching 57.1% in patients aged >85 years.

CONCLUSIONS

In a real-life setting, >40% of subjects with mild/moderate asthma are currently treated by protocols based on the results of RCTs for which they would not have been eligible. This proportion increases in elderly patients with comorbidities. These findings limit the generalizability of RCTs and advocate that complementary pragmatic studies be conducted. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Quality of asthma care under different primary care models in Canada: a population-based study

Background

Previous research has shown variations in quality of care and patient outcomes under different primary care models. The objective of this study was to use previously validated, evidence-based performance indicators to measure quality of asthma care over time and to compare quality of care between different primary care models.

Methods

Data were obtained for years 2006 to 2010 from the Ontario Asthma Surveillance Information System, which uses health administrative databases to track individuals with asthma living in the province of Ontario, Canada. Individuals with asthma (n=1,813,922) were divided into groups based on the practice model of their primary care provider (i.e., fee-for-service, blended fee-for-service, blended capitation). Quality of asthma care was measured using six validated, evidence-based asthma care performance indicators.

Results

All of the asthma performance indicators improved over time within each of the primary care models. Compared to the traditional fee-for-service model, the blended fee-for-service and blended capitation models had higher use of spirometry for asthma diagnosis and monitoring, higher rates of inhaled corticosteroid prescription, and lower outpatient claims. Emergency department visits were lowest in the blended fee-for-service group.

Conclusions

Quality of asthma care improved over time within each of the primary care models. However, the amount by which they improved differed between the models. The newer primary care models (i.e., blended fee-for-service, blended capitation) appear to provide better quality of asthma care compared to the traditional fee-for-service model.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12875-015-0232-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Chronic disease co-morbidity of asthma and unscheduled asthma care among adults: results of the national telephone health interview survey German Health Update (GEDA) 2009 and 2010

Background:

Co-morbidities may complicate the clinical management of chronic conditions such as asthma.

Aims:

To quantify the strength of the relationship between asthma and other chronic diseases and to analyse whether co-morbidities contribute to unscheduled asthma care.

Methods:

Data from two consecutive national telephone health interview surveys (GEDA 2009 and 2010) including a total of 43,312 adults (≥18 years of age) were analysed. Persons with and without a current diagnosis of asthma were compared with respect to concurrent diagnoses (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic heart failure, depression, osteoarthritis, stroke, coronary heart disease, and cancer). Logistic regression models were applied to assess the strength of the association between asthma and co-morbidities in the total study population and, among persons with asthma, between the number of co-morbidities and unscheduled inpatient (hospital admissions and/or emergency department admissions) or outpatient asthma care in the past 12 months.

Results:

Overall, 5.3% (95% CI 5.0% to 5.6%) of adults reported current physician-diagnosed asthma. Asthma was significantly associated with most of the conditions considered and 18% of persons with asthma had three or more co-morbidities. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of unscheduled asthma care increased with numbers of conditions, with AOR 3.40 (95% CI 1.39 to 8.31) for unscheduled inpatient care and AOR 2.32 (95% CI 1.30 to 4.14) for unscheduled outpatient care comparing those with three or more co-morbidities versus those with none.

Conclusions:

The magnitude of chronic disease co-morbidity is substantial in asthma, is related to unscheduled asthma care, and implies a significant number of adults with asthma facing complex healthcare needs.

Multiple chronic conditions and asthma: implications for practice and research

At least half of US adults with asthma have at least 1 other chronic condition. Having asthma and other chronic conditions are associated with poorer asthma outcomes. Several studies considered the relationship between asthma and other specific chronic conditions; results of these studies indicated that having depression or anxiety and/or panic disorder is associated with an increased risk of developing a new asthma diagnosis and with poorer asthma outcomes. In addition, results of these studies indicated that having asthma is associated with an increased risk of developing a new depression or anxiety and/or panic disorder diagnosis. Theoretical models for understanding multiple chronic conditions have emerged, with models that include a balance between patient workload and capacity; classification of specific conditions as concordant and/or discordant and/or dominant; and identification of the gap between what a patient needs and what health care services are able to offer. Potential implications for clinical providers include screening for chronic conditions not yet recognized, such as mental health disorders, promoting and tracking medication adherence in those who have multiple chronic conditions, and simplifying treatment regimens to reduce patient workload.

Management of asthma in the elderly patient

A significant number of older asthmatics, more often than in previous ages, have poorly controlled asthma, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. On the other hand, current guidelines suggest that most asthmatics can obtain achievement and maintenance of disease control and do not include sections specific to the management of asthma in the elderly so that it is more evident the contrast between poor control of asthma in the elderly and the lack of specific guidance from guidelines on asthma management in older asthmatics. Inhaled corticosteroids are the cornerstone for older asthmatics, eventually with add-on inhaled long-acting beta-agonists; inhaled short acting beta-agonists can be used as rescue medications. Triggers exacerbating asthma are similar for all ages, but inhaled viruses and drug interactions have greater clinical significance in the elderly. Older asthmatics have an increased likelihood of comorbidities and polypharmacy, with possible worsening of asthma control and reduced treatment adherence. Physicians and older asthmatics probably either do not perceive or accept a poor asthma control. We conclude that specific instruments addressed to evaluate asthma control in the elderly with concomitant comorbidities and measurements for improving self-management and adherence could assure better disease control in older asthmatics.

Comorbidities of asthma: current knowledge and future research needs

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Asthma is often associated with different comorbidities, mainly gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and allergic rhinitis, but also obesity, depression, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, which may affect its clinical intensity and severity. The prevalence of these comorbidities varies tremendously between studies. Nevertheless, it imposes a significant reflection on the need to explore the phenomenon in depth.

RECENT FINDINGS

Both clinical and basic studies have established that inflammation plays a vital role in the initiation and progression of several comorbidities. However, the role of systemic inflammation in asthma is still unclear. Understanding mechanism(s) that link(s) asthma and its comorbid diseases is essential to design an effective therapeutic approach.

SUMMARY

In the future, researchers must identify the weight of any comorbidity in patients with asthma, find the true mechanism(s) that link(s) it to asthma and act on these mechanisms that probably create a vicious circle. Conversely, we do not think it reasonable that the generalization of treatment with a holistic approach might affect the link(s) between asthma and its comorbidities.