title: [The relationships between aging and disease in the elderly asthma].
abstract: In developed countries, the population aged 65 and over has been increasing. Asthma is a common disease among older persons and it may appear de novo above the age of 65. The prevalence of the disease in elderly people is estimated to be between 6.5% and 17%. Available data about older asthma patients are limited by a small numbers of studies reports. Asthma beginning late during the lifetime seems to be more severe, but the natural history of this disease appears to be variable. The characteristics of asthma in older patients is being complicated by the changes related to aging. Aging of the respiratory system is a natural process associated with its structural and functional changes. These changes may influence the expression of asthma. Differentiating physiological ageing from pathological changes related to disease can be difficult. Interactions of some of these mechanisms in asthma in the elderly are analyzed in this article.
authors.affiliation: Akademia Medyczna we Wrocławiu, Katedra i Klinika Chorób Wewnetrznych i Alergologii. karolina_lindner@tlen.pl
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindner
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Panaszek
authors.forename: Zbigniew
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Machaj
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012143:Respiratory Physiological Phenomena