Age at asthma diagnosis and probability of remission in a population-based study

• Background: Child-onset asthma is known to remit with high probability but remission in adult-onset asthma seems to be less common. Reports of association between remission and asthma onset age in adulthood are scarce.Objectives: To study if age at asthma diagnosis and gender are associated to remission rate in adult asthma population.Methods: In 2016, a random sample of 16 000 subjects aged 20-69 years from Helsinki and Western Finland were sent a FinEsS-questionnaire. Asthma was categorized by reported age when diagnosed with asthma by a physician: child (0-11 years) adolescent-young-adult (12-39 years) and late-adult-diagnosed (40-69 years). Remission was defined as a physician diagnosed asthma but not having had asthma symptoms, wheezing or use of asthma medication in the past 12 months.Results: 8199 subjects (51.5%) responded to the postal questionnaire. Remission was most common in child-diagnosed (30.2%), followed by adolescent-young-adult-diagnosed (17.9%) and least common in late-adult-diagnosed asthma (5.0%) (p<0.001). In males, the corresponding proportions were 36.7%, 20.0% and 3.4%, and in females 20.4%, 16.6% and 5.9%, respectively (p<0.001 for gender difference). In binary logistic regression, significant risk factors of non-remission were diagnosis at adolescent-young-adulthood- (OR=2.2, 95% CI 1.4-3.4) or late-adulthood- (OR=11.1, 4.8-25.4), asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) (OR=5.6, 1.3-24.5), allergic rhinitis (OR=2.3, 1.5-3.5) and family history of asthma (OR=1.9, 1.2-2.8). Results remained similar after exclusion of ACO.Conclusion: Remission was rare (5%) in adults diagnosed with asthma after age 40 years in both sexes. Causes of poor prognosis in adult-onset asthma need to be further elucidated.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Lungmedicin och allergi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Respiratory Medicine and Allergy (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Asthma

Adults

Adolescents

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)