Asthma and ageing: an end user's perspective ‐ the perception and problems with the management of asthma in the elderly

Abstract

Asthma and ageing: an end user' s perspective-the perception and problems with the management of asthma in the elderly AbstractDespite the high prevalence of asthma in the elderly, its development, diagnosis, and treatment are underresearched. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge in relation to management of asthma in the elderly -focusing on barriers to diagnosis and treatment and the central role of self-management. Asthma prevalence increases with age, as does the risk of dying from asthma, and with the ageing of the population and increasing life expectancy, the prevalence of (diagnosed and undiagnosed) asthma in older adults is expected to increase drastically, placing an increasing burden on sufferers, the community and health budgets. Asthma sufferers are more likely to be psychologically distressed and at a higher risk of anxiety and depression, more likely to experience a sense of lack of control over their health and to have lower self-reported quality of life. Asthma is under-diagnosed, and under-treated, in the elderly, further exacerbating these negative consequences. The review concludes, among other things, that there is a need to better understand the development and impact of asthma in the elderly, to increase community awareness of asthma in the elderly, to improve both 'medical management' and 'self-management' in this population and to develop more effective tools for diagnosis and treatment of asthma in the elderly. The paper concludes with key recommendations for future research and practice in this area.

A Comparison of the Clinical and Induced Sputum Characteristics of Early- and Late-Onset Asthma

“…Studies of this phenotype are difficult to perform because there is no accepted cutoff definition of the time after which LOA develops [2], and because confounding factors such as smoking history and the development of COPD may cause diagnostic confusion. Nevertheless, the need for further characterization of this phenotype is well recognised [3].…”

Is the diagnosis of asthma different in elderly?

“…Prevalence of asthma is same with the other age groups by 6.5-17% (15%), but the diagnosis rate is quite low (1,3). Therefore, the prevalence is considered to be higher than these values.…”

“…Sensitivity to the household allergens, particularly to the house dust mite is higher. Outdoor allergens are less with most frequently grass pollen in Europe and ragweed in the USA (3,4,6). Of those persons with rhinitis, 50% have persistent mediate to severe rhinitis.…”

“…This is not atopic and often the viral infections are the triggers. The pathogenesis differs from the extrinsic asthma, and intrinsic asthma is often precipitated by an upper respiratory tract infection (3,7,8). It is more common in females and has a higher sensitivity to the sinusitis, nasal polyps and aspirin, and is resistant to the treatment.…”

Usability Testing of AsthmaWise With Older Adults

“…It was produced by the University of Wollongong in collaboration with Asthma Foundation New South Wales following extensive formative research with the target population 5,18,19 . AsthmaWise was developed using Moodle (Moodle, Perth, Australia) an open source, e-learning software platform that allows educators to create online courses.…”