Asthma, Rhinitis, Other Respiratory DiseasesIncidence and remission of asthma: A retrospective study on the natural history of asthma in Italy☆,☆☆,★
Section snippets
Study design
The Italian Study on Asthma in Young Adults is a multicenter, cross-sectional survey on the young general adult population specifically aimed at assessing the prevalence and current management of asthma in Italy.
The survey was carried out between 1998 and 2000 in 9 Italian centers belonging to 2 different climatic regions: subcontinental (Northern Italy) and Mediterranean (Central/Southern Italy). Each center identified an up-to-date sampling frame of the residents of the target area, from
Asthma incidence
Of 25,969 eligible subjects in 9 centers, 18,873 filled in the questionnaire, with an overall response rate of 72.7%. All the centers but one had a response rate greater than 70%. The age and sex distribution of responders was similar to that of nonresponders. One thousand five hundred twenty-six subjects (8.1%) reported ever having had asthma during their life, of which 91.3% were given a diagnosis by a doctor, and the total person-years amounted to 589,716.
The overall crude incidence (Table
Discussion
The main findings of the analysis of the incidence and remission of asthma in Italy are as follows:
- •
The average incidence rate of asthma in the 0- to 44-year age group during the period from 1953 to 2000 was 2.6/1000 persons per year, with strong variation by age, sex, and generation.
- •
In the presence of a generational increase, the incidence of asthma shows a constant age-specific U-shaped pattern, implying 2 different forms of the disease: early-onset asthma, mainly affecting boys (3.8/1000
References (31)
- et al.
A prospective study of the natural history of asthma: remission and relapse rates
Chest
(1986) - et al.
Estimating age incidence from survey data with adjustments for recall errors
J Clin Epidemiol
(1989) - et al.
Are all wheezing disorders in very young (preschool) children increasing in prevalence?
Lancet
(2001) Consequences of long-term inflammation. The natural history of asthma
Clin Chest Med
(2000)- et al.
Characteristics of asthma among elderly adults in a sample of the general population
Chest
(1991) - et al.
Con: the increase in asthma cannot be ascribed to cleanliness
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
(2001) - et al.
The association of respiratory symptoms and lung function with the use of gas for cooking
Eur Respir J
(1998) - et al.
Incidence and prevalence of asthma among adult Finnish men and women of the Finnish Twin Cohort from 1975 to 1990 and their relation to hay fever and chronic bronchitis
Chest
(1999) - et al.
The prevalence and incidence of asthma and asthma-like symptoms in a general population sample
Am Rev Respir Dis
(1980) - et al.
Incidence rate of adult-onset asthma in relation to age, sex, atopy and smoking: a Swedish population based study of 15813 adults
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis
(1999)
A community-based study of the epidemiology of asthma. Incidence rates, 1964-1983
Am Rev Respir Dis
Evolution of asthma through childhood
Clin Exp Allergy
Generational increase of self-reported first attack of asthma in fifteen industrialized countries
Eur Respir J
Differences in incidence of reported asthma related to age in men and women. A retrospective analysis of the data of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
Childhood asthma in adult life; a further study at 28 years of age
BMJ
Cited by (169)
A Study of the Prevalence of Asthma in the General Population in Spain
2023, Open Respiratory ArchivesAsthma
2023, The LancetGender differences and sex-related hormonal factors in asthma
2023, Asthma in the 21st Century: New Research AdvancesImpact of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma on COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Mortality
2022, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In PracticeCitation Excerpt :However, this protective effect of asthma on COVID-19 infection was mainly observed in patients who were younger than 65 years in our study. The exact reason is unclear, but we speculated that it might attribute to the decline in lung function and immunity with age,25 which could lead to poorer prognoses.26,27 It is interesting that AR and asthma exhibited distinct effects on COVID-19 hospitalization in our study, of which asthma was a risk factor, whereas the influence of AR was not statistically notable.
Long-Term Follow-Up of Cluster-Based Diisocyanate Asthma Phenotypes
2021, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice
- ☆
Principal participants in the Italian Study on Asthma in Young Adults are listed in the Appendix.
- ☆☆
Supported by Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research; University of Verona; Glaxo Wellcome Italia; National Health Service, AUSL Ferrara; National Health Service, AUSL Pavia; National Health Service, ASL 4 Turin; IRCCS San Matteo; Udine Municipality; Councillorship for Health, Modena Province; Pavia Province; Siracusa Province; and Veneto Region.
- ★
Reprint requests: Roberto de Marco, PhD, Unit of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, c/o Istituti Biologici II, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy.