TY - JOUR
T1 - Asthma in the elderly
T2 - What we know and what we have yet to know
AU - Yáñez, Anahí
AU - Cho, Sang Hoen
AU - Soriano, Joan B.
AU - Rosenwasser, Lanny J.
AU - Rodrigo, Gustavo J.
AU - Rabe, Klaus F.
AU - Peters, Stephen
AU - Niimi, Akio
AU - Ledford, Dennis K.
AU - Katial, Rohit
AU - Fabbri, Leonardo M.
AU - Celedón, Juan C.
AU - Canonica, Giorgio Walter
AU - Busse, Paula
AU - Boulet, Louis Phillippe
AU - Baena-Cagnani, Carlos E.
AU - Hamid, Qutayba
AU - Bachert, Claus
AU - Pawankar, Ruby
AU - Holgate, Stephen T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Yáñez et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
PY - 2014/5/30
Y1 - 2014/5/30
N2 - In the past, asthma was considered mainly as a childhood disease. However, asthma is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly nowadays. In addition, the burden of asthma is more significant in the elderly than in their younger counterparts, particularly with regard to mortality, hospitalization, medical costs or health-related quality of life. Nevertheless, asthma in the elderly is still been underdiagnosed and undertreated. Therefore, it is an imperative task to recognize our current challenges and to set future directions. This project aims to review the current literature and identify unmet needs in the fields of research and practice for asthma in the elderly. This will enable us to find new research directions, propose new therapeutic strategies, and ultimately improve outcomes for elderly people with asthma. There are data to suggest that asthma in older adults is phenotypically different from young patients, with potential impact on the diagnosis, assessment and management in this population. The diagnosis of AIE in older populations relies on the same clinical findings and diagnostic tests used in younger populations, but the interpretation of the clinical data is more difficult. The challenge today is to encourage new research in AIE but to use the existing knowledge we have to make the diagnosis of AIE, educate the patient, develop a therapeutic approach to control the disease, and ultimately provide a better quality of life to our elderly patients.
AB - In the past, asthma was considered mainly as a childhood disease. However, asthma is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly nowadays. In addition, the burden of asthma is more significant in the elderly than in their younger counterparts, particularly with regard to mortality, hospitalization, medical costs or health-related quality of life. Nevertheless, asthma in the elderly is still been underdiagnosed and undertreated. Therefore, it is an imperative task to recognize our current challenges and to set future directions. This project aims to review the current literature and identify unmet needs in the fields of research and practice for asthma in the elderly. This will enable us to find new research directions, propose new therapeutic strategies, and ultimately improve outcomes for elderly people with asthma. There are data to suggest that asthma in older adults is phenotypically different from young patients, with potential impact on the diagnosis, assessment and management in this population. The diagnosis of AIE in older populations relies on the same clinical findings and diagnostic tests used in younger populations, but the interpretation of the clinical data is more difficult. The challenge today is to encourage new research in AIE but to use the existing knowledge we have to make the diagnosis of AIE, educate the patient, develop a therapeutic approach to control the disease, and ultimately provide a better quality of life to our elderly patients.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84910645659&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1939-4551-7-8
DO - 10.1186/1939-4551-7-8
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84910645659
SN - 1939-4551
VL - 7
JO - World Allergy Organization Journal
JF - World Allergy Organization Journal
IS - 1
M1 - 8
ER -