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Chronic airway diseases (CAD), mainly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are frequently associated with different comorbidities. Among them, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) pose problems for the simultaneous treatment of CAD and comorbidity. Indeed, there is evidence that some drugs used to treat CAD negatively affect comorbidity, and, conversely, some drugs used to treat comorbidity may aggravate CAD. However, there is also growing evidence of some beneficial effects of CAD drugs on comorbidities and, conversely, of the ability of some of those used to treat comorbidity to reduce the severity of lung disease. In this narrative review, we first describe the potential cardiovascular risks and benefits for patients using drugs to treat CAD and the potential lung risks and benefits for patients using drugs to treat CVD. Then, we illustrate the possible negative and positive effects on T2DM of drugs used to treat CAD and the potential negative and positive impact on CAD of drugs used to treat T2DM. The frequency with which CAD and CVD or T2DM are associated requires not only considering the effect that drugs used for one disease condition may have on the other but also providing an opportunity to develop therapies that simultaneously favorably impact both diseases.

BackgroundThe strength of association between comorbidities and asthma has never been ranked in relation to the prevalence of the comorbidity in the nonasthma population. We investigated the strength of association between comorbidities and asthma.MethodsA comprehensive literature search was performed for observational studies reporting data on comorbidities in asthma and nonasthma populations. A pairwise meta-analysis was performed and the strength of association calculated by anchoring odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals with the rate of comorbidities in nonasthma populationsviaCohen'sdmethod. Cohen'sd=0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 were cut-off values for small, medium and large effect sizes, respectively; very large effect size resulted for Cohen'sd >0.8. The review was registered in the PROSPERO database; identifier number CRD42022295657.ResultsData from 5 493 776 subjects were analysed. Allergic rhinitis (OR 4.24, 95% CI 3.82–4.71), allergic conjunctivitis (OR 2.63, 95% CI 2.22–3.11), bronchiectasis (OR 4.89, 95% CI 4.48–5.34), hypertensive cardiomyopathy (OR 4.24, 95% CI 2.06–8.90) and nasal congestion (OR 3.30, 95% CI 2.96–3.67) were strongly associated with asthma (Cohen'sd>0.5 and ≤0.8); COPD (OR 6.23, 95% CI 4.43–8.77) and other chronic respiratory diseases (OR 12.85, 95% CI 10.14–16.29) were very strongly associated with asthma (Cohen'sd>0.8). Stronger associations were detected between comorbidities and severe asthma. No bias resulted according to funnel plots and Egger's test.ConclusionThis meta-analysis supports the relevance of individualised strategies for disease management that look beyond asthma. A multidimensional approach should be used to assess whether poor symptom control is related to uncontrolled asthma or to uncontrolled underlying comorbidities.

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