Background Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, with a noticeable increase in prevalence during the second half of the 20th century. Recent studies assessing the prevalence trends among adults have been inconsistent. We investigated the changes in the prevalence of asthma, respiratory symptoms, and risk factors between 2008 and 2016 in western Sweden. Methods The West Sweden Asthma Study (WSAS) is a population‐based study which started in 2008 (WSAS I) and then repeated in 2016 (WSAS II) in western Sweden. Randomly selected individuals aged 16‐75 years (N = 18 087 in 2008 and N = 24 534 in 2016) completed a questionnaire regarding obstructive lung diseases, respiratory symptoms, potential risk factors, and also questions from the GA2LEN survey. Results The prevalence of reported ever asthma, physician‐diagnosed asthma, use of asthma medication, and current asthma increased significantly from 9.6% to 11%, 8.3% to 10%, 8.6% to 9.8%, and 8.1% to 9.1%, respectively, between 2008 and 2016. There were also increases in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms during the same period. The greatest increase occurred in young adults aged 16‐25 years. Female gender, allergic rhinitis, obesity, and family history of asthma remained the strongest risk factors for asthma in 2016 as it was in 2008. Conclusion There were moderate increases in asthma and respiratory symptoms in adults in western Sweden between 2008 and 2016, the greatest increase occurring in younger adults. The potential risk factors for asthma remained the same during the study period.

Background Atopic diseases including asthma, rhinitis and eczema have increased in the second half of the past century. This has been well studied among children and adolescents but with the exception of asthma to a much lesser extent in adults. The adult risk factor pattern of atopic diseases, in particular of eczema, and their relation to allergic sensitization are yet to be fully elucidated. Studies among adults that have compared the risk factor pattern for these conditions in the same material are very few. The objective of this study was to compare the risk factor patterns for asthma, rhinitis and eczema in a randomly selected adult population.Methods A questionnaire survey on atopic diseases was dispatched by mail to 30,000 randomly selected individuals in West Sweden aged 16–75 years and 62 % participated. A subgroup of 2000 individuals was selected for clinical examinations including blood sampling for specific serum Immunoglobulin E to common airborne allergens and 1172 attended.ResultsThe prevalence of current asthma was 11.8 %, current rhinitis 42.8 %, current eczema 13.5 and 2.3 % had all three conditions while 13.9 % had at least two conditions. No mutual risk factor was identified for all three conditions. Allergic sensitization was a strong risk factor for current asthma (OR 4.1 CI 2.7–6.3) and current rhinitis (OR 5.1 CI 3.8–6.9) but not so for current eczema. Obesity was a risk factor for current asthma and current rhinitis, while farm childhood decreased the risk for current asthma and current rhinitis. Occupational exposure to gas dust or fumes and female sex was associated with an increased risk of current asthma and current eczema.ConclusionsThere are different risk factor patterns for asthma, rhinitis and eczema in adults but some risk factors are overlapping between some of the conditions. The effect of mutable risk factors should be assessed further in longitudinal studies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13601-016-0112-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: There are paucity of data on sensitization to furry animal allergen components in adults. Furry animals are major sensitizers and contributors to asthma burden in northern Europe and North America.Objective: To characterize sensitization patterns to furry animal allergen components in Swedish adults.Methods: Based on the West Sweden Asthma Study, a random population (n = 1103) and an asthma sample (n = 769) were tested for allergen sensitization using Phadiatop ® .Those with IgE ≥ 0.35 kU A /L were tested for cat (Fel d 1, 2, and 4), dog (Can f 1, 2, 3, and 5), and horse (Equ c 1) allergen component sensitization. We defined allergen component poly-sensitization patterns, identified data-driven sensitization clusters, described component sensitization overlaps, and assessed determinants of sensitization patterns.

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