Severe Asthma Not the Same in Adults and Children
Severe asthma strikes boys much more often than girls, but women are much more likely than men to have a severe case of the lung disease, Colorado researchers report. Also, children with severe asthma tend to have better lung function than expected, which could lead to undertreatment, according to an article in the journal Chest.
"Our findings highlight many of the significant differences between severe asthma in children and adults," study author Dr. Joseph D. Spahn of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver said in a press release. "We hope they will spur further research that can lead to a better understanding and better treatment of this disease."
As many as 10 percent of people with asthma in the U.S. have severe asthma that is hard to keep under control with medication. Spahn and his colleagues set out to see how severe asthma differs in adults and children. The study included 150 adults and 125 children who had been referred to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center for severe asthma.
Among children, severe asthma was most common among boys, who made up 62 percent of the cases. The male-female ratio was flipped in adults, however, with women making up 68 percent of severe asthma cases. Women's hormones or sex-related differences in lung size may play a role in why women are more likely to have severe asthma in adulthood, but no one knows for certain, according to Spahn. The study also revealed a difference between adults and children with severe asthma that could have an important effect on the treatment and diagnosis of the illness.
The amount of air a person can exhale in a second, known as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), is an important measure used to diagnose asthma. Adults in the study had an average FEV1 that was about 57 percent of the healthy average, which is a clear sign of severe asthma. In children, the average FEV1 was 74 percent. This is below normal, but does not fall into the severe range. This may sound like good news, but that is not necessarily the case, since children may experience life-threatening asthma attacks even if their FEV1 is not in the severe range.
One lesson to be learned from the study, according to the researchers, is that severe asthma should be diagnosed not only using FEV1, but also by taking into account other factors, including the frequency and severity of symptoms and the need for aggressive medication.
SOURCE: Chest, October 2003., 百拇医药
"Our findings highlight many of the significant differences between severe asthma in children and adults," study author Dr. Joseph D. Spahn of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver said in a press release. "We hope they will spur further research that can lead to a better understanding and better treatment of this disease."
As many as 10 percent of people with asthma in the U.S. have severe asthma that is hard to keep under control with medication. Spahn and his colleagues set out to see how severe asthma differs in adults and children. The study included 150 adults and 125 children who had been referred to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center for severe asthma.
Among children, severe asthma was most common among boys, who made up 62 percent of the cases. The male-female ratio was flipped in adults, however, with women making up 68 percent of severe asthma cases. Women's hormones or sex-related differences in lung size may play a role in why women are more likely to have severe asthma in adulthood, but no one knows for certain, according to Spahn. The study also revealed a difference between adults and children with severe asthma that could have an important effect on the treatment and diagnosis of the illness.
The amount of air a person can exhale in a second, known as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), is an important measure used to diagnose asthma. Adults in the study had an average FEV1 that was about 57 percent of the healthy average, which is a clear sign of severe asthma. In children, the average FEV1 was 74 percent. This is below normal, but does not fall into the severe range. This may sound like good news, but that is not necessarily the case, since children may experience life-threatening asthma attacks even if their FEV1 is not in the severe range.
One lesson to be learned from the study, according to the researchers, is that severe asthma should be diagnosed not only using FEV1, but also by taking into account other factors, including the frequency and severity of symptoms and the need for aggressive medication.
SOURCE: Chest, October 2003., 百拇医药