Improving our understanding of conditions that occur alongside severe asthma

People living with severe asthma often face other health issues at the same time, which can complicate treatment and affect quality of life. A new study has looked for patterns in these conditions to help healthcare professionals work out how best to treat people with multiple conditions.

Background

People with severe asthma may have other long‑term health conditions at the same time, such as allergies, mental health struggles or chronic sinus problems. Having multiple conditions together is known as multimorbidity. However, there is currently little understanding of how different conditions are linked to asthma and whether there are any patterns in how they affect people. Better understanding of this connection could help to improve personalised asthma care.

This study was conducted by SHARP, a European Respiratory Society Clinical Research Collaboration, which aims to develop and deliver cutting edge severe asthma research.

What did the study look at?

The study looked at data from 2,690 people with severe asthma across 11 European countries to better understand the relationship between asthma severity and co-occurring conditions.

The study outlined common multimorbidities, including:

• Sinus and nasal problems
• Allergies
• Eczema
• Mental health conditions
• Obesity
• Bone weakness
• Reflux
• Bronchiectasis

Researchers grouped these conditions together based on similarities to better understand how they interact with asthma.

What did the study find?

The study found that living with multiple conditions was extremely common in people with severe asthma. Researchers were able to group other health conditions that occur together in clear patterns, which were similar across Europe. Three main patterns were found:

• Weak bones and weight gain (often linked to using steroids for a long time)
• Eczema and hayfever
• Sinus and nasal problems

Other commonly occurring health problems included obesity, bronchiectasis, acid reflux and mental health issues were common but with less noticeable patterns.

Why is this important?

This research is important because understanding the different groups – or phenotypes – of severe asthma patients can help to improve the care that people receive.

Personalising treatment to the specific needs of people and their co-occuring conditions could help to improve quality of life by treating the person as a whole and not just a single condition.

Read the full paper: Multimorbidity phenotypes and associated characteristics in severe asthma: an observational study of European severe asthma registries