Prevalence of asthma and its association with rhinitis in the elderly

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2014

Authors

Pite, H (Author) Other; Pereira, AM (Author) FMUP; Morais Almeida, M (Author) Other; Nunes, C (Author) Other; Bousquet, J (Author) Other; Fonseca, J (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Respiratory Medicine

Vol. 108

Pages: 1117-1126

ISSN: 0954-6111

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 29 Citations

Scopus - 32 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-009-T7N

DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2014.05.002

Abstract (EN): Background: Asthma and rhinitis are frequent respiratory diseases in children and adults. Despite the increase in the aging population, there are few epidemiologic data on both diseases in the elderly. So far, no population-based study has analyzed the association between asthma and rhinitis symptoms and severity in this age group. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma in the population aged >= 65 years in mainland Portugal and to evaluate its association with the presence and classification of rhinitis according to ARIA recommendations, in this age group. Methods: A cross-sectional, nationwide, population-based survey of individuals aged >= 65 years, living in mainland Portugal was performed. Results: Data were obtained from 3678 respondents. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 10.9% (95% confidence interval (95%CI) 9.9-11.9). The frequency of asthma diagnosis increased with the number of nasal symptoms (p < 0.001). A strong association between asthma and rhinitis was found (odds ratio (OR) 13.86 (95%CI 10.66-18.02)). The strength of this association increased with the persistence and severity of rhinitis, being particularly high in elderly subjects with moderate-severe persistent rhinitis (OR 39.9 (95%CI 27.5-58.0)). Conclusions: Asthma is common in the elderly and strongly associated with rhinitis. The OR for asthma is especially high in persistent and severe ARIA classification rhinitis types. This study strengthens the need for an integrated assessment of asthma together with rhinitis in the elderly.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 10