npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine (Nov 2021)

Influence of the first wave of COVID-19 on asthma inhaler prescriptions

  • C. I. Bloom,
  • E. Wong,
  • K. Hickman,
  • S. Elkin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41533-021-00260-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 31, no. 1
pp. 1 – 3

Abstract

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Abstract In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were major concerns regarding the huge demand for asthma inhalers. Using the primary-care medical records for 614,700 asthma patients between January and June 2020, we found that there was a substantial increase in inhalers solely in March 2020. Patients significantly associated with receiving higher inhaled corticosteroid prescriptions were younger, of higher socioeconomic status, and had milder asthma.