PUBLISHER: GlobalData | PRODUCT CODE: 1635722
PUBLISHER: GlobalData | PRODUCT CODE: 1635722
Asthma is a common lung condition that is characterized by the narrowing and swelling of the airways of the lungs and the production of excess mucus (Mayo Clinic, 2024). Common symptoms of asthma include wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing at night or early in the morning (NHS, 2021; CDC, 2024). These symptoms may come and go for some people, but severe episodes of symptoms, or asthma attacks, can be life-threatening (Mayo Clinic, 2024). Asthma symptoms can be managed with regular medication (Mayo Clinic, 2024). Asthma can affect people of all ages, but usually develops in childhood. Sometimes, asthma can develop for the first time in adulthood (NHS, 2021). In 2018, the global burden of asthma was estimated to affect 339 million people. Globally, asthma is the 16th most common cause of years lived with disability (Global Asthma Network, 2022).
Severe asthma, as defined by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), is a subset of difficult-to-treat asthma that remains uncontrolled despite adherence to maximum optimal high-dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA) treatment and management of contributory factors, or that worsens when high-dose treatment is decreased (Global Initiative for Asthma, 2023). The European Respiratory Society (ERS) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) have also defined severe asthma, although it is functionally the same as the GINA definition used for this report (Chung et al., 2014). Severe asthma is categorized into type 2 inflammation, which includes eosinophilic and allergic asthma, and non-type-2 inflammation, which includes neutrophilic asthma (American Lung Association, 2024). Treatments for these types of asthma differ. The GINA estimates that the worldwide prevalence of severe asthma among asthma patients is around 3.7%, based on a study from the Netherlands (Global Initiative for Asthma, 2023).