Diagnosis and management of asthma in the elderly.
Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide, and by definition not expected to recover with aging. However, the concept that asthma can affect older individuals has been largely denied in the past. In clinical practice, asthma that occurs in the most advanced ages is often diagnosed as COPD, thus leading to undertreatment or improper treatment. The heterogeneity of clinical and functional presentation of geriatric asthma, including the partial loss of reversibility and of the allergic component, contributes to this misconception. A large body of evidence has accumulated demonstrating that the prevalence of asthma in the most advanced ages is similar to that in younger ages. The frequent coexistence of comorbid conditions in older patients compared to younger asthmatics, together with age-associated changes of the human lung, may render the management of asthma a complicated task. The article addresses the main issues related to the diagnosis and treatment of asthma in the geriatric age.
Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.MIS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: nicola.scichilone@unipa.it.
Nicola
N
Scichilone
Area of Geriatrics, Campus Biomedico University and Teaching Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Claudio
C
Pedone
Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.MIS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Salvatore
S
Battaglia
Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.MIS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; U.O. di Pneumologia, Ospedale Sant'Anna, Como, Italy.
Claudio
C
Sorino
Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.MIS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Vincenzo
V
Bellia
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D055118:Medication Adherence
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents
Aging; Airway inflammation; Asthma treatment; Comorbidity; Lung function