World Allergy Organization Journal (Aug 2024)

Profiling severe asthma: Any relevance for age? An analysis from Severe Asthma Network Italy (SANI) cohort

  • Marco Caminati, MD,
  • Alessandro Marcon, PhD,
  • Rachele Vaia, MD,
  • Gianenrico Senna, MD,
  • Matteo Maule, MD,
  • Pierpaolo Marchetti, MD,
  • Jessica Miotti, MD,
  • Giuseppe Argentino, MD,
  • Francesco Blasi, MD, PhD,
  • Giorgio W. Canonica, MD,
  • Enrico M. Heffler, MD, PhD,
  • Pierluigi Paggiaro, MD,
  • Andrea Vianello, MD, PhD,
  • Gabriella Guarnieri, MD,
  • Luisa Brussino, MD PhD, S.S.D.D.U,
  • Cecilia Calabrese, MD PhD,
  • Gianna Camiciottoli, MD,
  • Giovanna E. Carpagnano, MD PhD,
  • Stefano Centanni, MD PhD,
  • Angelo G. Corsico, MD PhD,
  • Maria T. Costantino, MD,
  • Claudia Crimi, MD PhD,
  • Alice D'adda, MD,
  • Simona D'alo, MD,
  • Maria D'amato, MD PhD,
  • Stefano Del Giacco, MD,
  • Fabiano Di Marco, MD PhD,
  • Nicola C. Facciolongo, MD,
  • Manuela Latorre, MD PhD,
  • Eustachio Nettis, MD,
  • Eleonora Nucera, MD,
  • Giovanni Passalacqua, MD,
  • Girolamo Pelaia, MD,
  • Laura Pini, MD PhD,
  • Luisa Ricciardi, MD,
  • Luca Richeldi, MD,
  • Erminia Ridolo, MD PhD,
  • Pierachille Santus, MD PhD,
  • Nicola Scichilone, MD,
  • Giulia Scioscia, MD PhD,
  • Giuseppe Spadaro, MD,
  • Antonio Spanevello, MD PhD,
  • Paolo Tarsia, MD PhD

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 8
p. 100941

Abstract

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Background: Aging implies changes in terms of lung function, immune system, and respiratory and extra-respiratory comorbidities. Few studies have specifically addressed the relevance of age on severe asthma burden and control. We aimed to evaluate whether age acts as an independent determinant of asthma severity, in terms of clinical, functional, and inflammatory profile, and to explore potential cofactors that contribute to a more difficult disease control in different age groups. Methods: Patients from Severe Asthma Network Italy (SANI) registry were retrospectively divided in subgroups according to their age. Cutoffs for age were established according to quartiles in order to obtain a comparable number of patients for each group, and then rounded for the sake of simplicity. Results: Overall, 1805 severe asthma patients were analyzed. Lung function represented the most important age-related variable. On the opposite the level of asthma control was not differently distributed among age ranges. In young people the presence of atopy-related comorbidities (allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis) predominated, whilst systemic-metabolic and degenerative comorbidities such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, anxious-depressive syndrome, and osteoporosis prevailed in elderly. Bronchiectasis and sleep disturbances were significantly associated with age. Conclusions: Despite that it cannot be considered a treatable trait, our study suggests that age should be evaluated within a personalized approach to severe asthma patients, in order to provide a better clinical profiling and a more tailored treatment strategy.

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