Age is associated with asthma phenotypes

• Published in: Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) Vol. 22; no. 8; pp. 1558 - 1563
• Main Authors: Ponte, Eduardo V., Lima, Aline, Almeida, Paula C.A., de Jesus, Juliana P.V., Lima, Valmar B., Scichilone, Nicola, Souza‐Machado, Adelmir, Cruz, Álvaro A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.11.2017; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; Airway management; Allergens; allergy; Asthma; Asthma - complications; Asthma - diagnosis; Asthma - physiopathology; Atopy; Cross-Sectional Studies; eosinophils; Female; Humans; Leukocytes (eosinophilic); lung function test; Male; Middle Aged; Phenotype; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory tract; Skin Tests; Spirometry; lung function test; allergy; eosinophils; asthma
• ISSN: 1323-7799; 1440-1843
• DOI: 10.1111/resp.13102

ABSTRACT Background and objective The relationship between age and asthma phenotypes is important as population is ageing, asthma is becoming common in older ages and recently developed treatments for asthma are guided by phenotypes. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether age is associated with specific asthma phenotypes. Methods This is a cross‐sectional study. We included subjects with asthma of varied degrees of severity. Subjects underwent spirometry, skin prick test to aeroallergens, answered the Asthma Control Questionnaire and had blood samples collected. We performed binary logistic regression analysis to evaluate whether age is associated with asthma phenotypes. Results We enrolled 868 subjects. In comparison with subjects ≤ 40 years, older subjects had high odds of irreversible airway obstruction (from 41 to 64 years, OR: 1.83 (95% CI: 1.32–2.54); ≥65 years, OR: 3.45 (2.12–5.60)) and severe asthma phenotypes (from 41 to 64 years, OR: 3.23 (2.26–4.62); ≥65 years, OR: 4.55 (2.39–8.67)). Older subjects had low odds of atopic (from 41 to 64 years, OR: 0.56 (0.39–0.79); ≥65 years, OR: 0.47 (0.27–0.84)) and eosinophilic phenotypes (from 41 to 64 years, OR: 0.63 (0.46–0.84); ≥65 years, OR: 0.39 (0.24–0.64)). Conclusion Older subjects with asthma have low odds of atopic and eosinophilic phenotypes, whereas they present high odds of irreversible airway obstruction and severe asthma. See related Editorial In this cross‐sectional study, we demonstrated that asthmatic subjects aged 65 years or older have lower odds of atopic and eosinophilic phenotypes compared with younger subjects, whereas they present with higher odds of irreversible airway obstruction and severe asthma.