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. 2024 Jul 29;17(8):100941.
doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2024.100941. eCollection 2024 Aug.

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

Marco Caminati  1   2 , Alessandro Marcon  3 , Rachele Vaia  1   2 , Gianenrico Senna  1   2 , Matteo Maule  1   2 , Pierpaolo Marchetti  3 , Jessica Miotti  3 , Giuseppe Argentino  1 , Francesco Blasi  4   5 , Giorgio W Canonica  6   7 , Enrico M Heffler  6   7 , Pierluigi Paggiaro  8 , Andrea Vianello  9 , Gabriella Guarnieri  9 ; SANI study group
Collaborators, Affiliations

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

Marco Caminati et al. World Allergy Organ J. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Aging; Asthma control; Comorbidities; Lung function; Severe asthma.

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Conflict of interest statement

FB received financial grants from AstraZeneca Financial, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A and Insmed Inc.; he worked as a paid consultant for Menarini and Zambon; and received speaker fees from AstraZeneca, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., GlaxoSmithKline, Guidotti, Grifols, Insmed Inc., Menarini, Novartis AG, Sanofi-Genzyme, Viatris Inc., Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Zambon. MC received financial grants from AstraZeneca, GSK, Sanofi. GWC reports having received research grants as well as being lecturer or having received advisory board fees from: A. Menarini, Allergy Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Faes, Firma, Guidotti-Malesci, Glaxo Smith Kline, Hal Allergy, Innovacaremd, Novartis, OmPharma, RedMaple, Sanofi-Aventis, Sanofi-Genzyme, Stallergenes-Greer, Uriach Pharma, ThermoFisher, Valeas. EH received a research grant from GlaxoSmith&Kline, and fees for lectures from Sanofi, Regeneron, GlaxoSmith&Kline, Astrazeneca, Novartis, Chiesi, Stallergenes-Greer; and declares fees for advisory boards participation from Sanofi, Regeneron, Glaxo Smith Kline, Astrazeneca, Novartis, Chiesi, Almirall, Celltrion Healthcare, Bosch. PP received advisory board fees from Chiesi Farmaceutici, Glaxo Smith Kline, and Sanofi, and fees for educational activities from: AstraZeneca, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Glaxo Smith Kline, Guidotti and Sanofi. GS received financial grants from AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis, Sanofi. AM, AV, GA, GG, JM, MM, PM and RV declared no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors reported no financial interests or potential conflicts of interest related to this study.

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