The burden of asthma, hay fever and eczema in adults in 17 countries: GAN Phase I study

Abstract

Asthma, hay fever and eczema are three common chronic conditions. There are no recent multi-country data on the burden of these three conditions in adults; the aims of this study are to fill this evidence gap.The Global Asthma Network (GAN) Phase I is a multi-country cross-sectional population-based study using the same core methodology as the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase III. It provides data on the burden of asthma, hay fever, and eczema not only in children and adolescents but also for the first time in their parents/guardians.Data were available from 193 912 adults (104 061 female; mean age 38 (sd 7.5)) in 43 centres in 17 countries. The overall prevalences (range) of symptoms of current wheeze, asthma ever, hay fever ever and eczema ever were 6.6% (0.9%–32.7%), 4.4%(0.9%–29.0%), 14.4%(2.8%–45.7%), and 9.9%(1.6%–29.5%), respectively. Centre prevalence varied considerably both between countries and within countries. There was a moderate correlation between hay fever ever and asthma ever, and between eczema ever and hay fever ever at the centre level. There were moderate to strong correlations between indicators of the burden of disease reported in adults and the two younger age groups.We found evidence for a substantial burden of asthma, hay fever ever and eczema ever in countries examined highlighting the major public health importance of these diseases. Prevention strategies and equitable access to effective and affordable treatments for these three conditions would help mitigate the avoidable morbidity they cause.

Nigerian doctors’ experiences of guideline-based asthma management: a qualitative study

“…Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in children and remains one of the most common CRDs through adolescence and into adulthood. [1][2][3][4] The great majority of the 260 million people with asthma globally live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) where they face a disproportionately high burden of morbidity (84% of global disability-adjusted life years) and mortality (96% of global asthma related deaths). 5,6 In Nigeria, a LMIC in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) with a pop-ulation of around 200 million people, the prevalence of asthma is 6.2%.…”

Real-Life Performance of Mepolizumab in T2-High Severe Refractory Asthma with the Overlapping Eosinophilic-Allergic Phenotype

“…Severe asthma (SA) is a complex heterogeneous condition characterized by chronic inflammation of the pulmonary airways that affects 3–10% of the asthma population worldwide, comprising several pheno-endotypes that are distinguished by different clinical characteristics, pathobiological mechanisms, and biomarker expressions [ 1 , 2 ]. Considering the pathogenesis of SA, lung inflammation principally falls into a dichotomy of a preponderant type 2-high response—including eosinophilic, allergic, and non-allergic asthma—and a type 2-low response involving a neutrophilic and pauci-granulocytic SA.…”

“This guideline is not practical; it might be practical to specialists like you”: Doctors’ experiences of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guideline in Nigeria; A qualitative study

“…Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in children and remains one of the most common CRDs through adolescence and into adulthood [1][2][3][4]. The great majority of the 260 million people with asthma globally live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) where they face a disproportionately high burden of morbidity (84% of global disability-adjusted life years) and mortality (96% of global asthma related deaths) [5,6].…”