On the occasion of World Asthma Week, which is celebrated from May 1 to 5, the Argentine Association of Respiratory Medicine (AAMR) recalled that in Argentina, nearly 4 million people suffer from the disease and that, according to estimates, the half of them are unaware of their condition.
In turn, they reported that, according to data from the First Asthma Prevalence Survey (2015), in the country there are 15,000 hospitalizations due to asthma attacks (exacerbations); and despite having adequate treatments, 400 people still die from asthma a year.
According to the WHO Global Asthma Report 2022, it is estimated that asthma affects approximately 9% of children, 11% of adolescents and 6.6% of adults worldwide . In previous editions the report reported the existence of at least 330 million cases in the world, estimating that by 2025 this figure would increase by 100 million in all ages and for all ethnicities.
The rate of asthma increases as communities adopt Western lifestyles and become urbanized. But the economic and humanitarian effects of this disease are probably greater in developing countries, which account for 80% of global mortality from this cause and where the prevalence is increasing rapidly in recent years.
Diagnosis and control of asthma: how to achieve it?
Asthma is a disease in which chronic inflammation of the bronchi occurs, which causes their narrowing. This manifests itself in the patient as shortness of breath, pain or tightness in the chest, persistent cough or wheezing.
These symptoms generate a limitation in daily activities, from playing sports to everyday activities such as walking or bathing. The main consequence of this is increased school and work absenteeism.
It should be noted that it is a highly variable disease , both at a population level (different patients can present different characteristics within the mentioned symptoms) and at an individual level (the same patient can vary the way in which asthma manifests itself over time). In the same way, there are also associated conditions that can worsen symptoms, or be factors that make asthma management difficult even with adequate treatment (allergic diseases such as chronic rhinitis or dermatitis, chronic sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux, obesity, concomitant medications, smoking. , etc.).
Even patients with mild asthma suffer from asthma attacks (up to 4 out of every 10 patients) and can die as a result despite having a diagnosis of mild asthma. However, having such variable symptoms with asymptomatic periods of time, and due to the lack of medical education, many patients tend to abandon treatments.
This occurs more frequently when patients are incorrectly treated, untreated or not controlled for their pathology. As it is an inflammatory disease, the best treatment is airway anti-inflammatories (topical inhaled corticosteroids that are safe for the patient and can be used alone or associated with bronchodilators). In many cases, patients do not receive the correct prescription or abandon treatment. Lack of access to medicines is another factor involved.
Having asthma under control means not having symptoms, not having limitations on usual physical activities and not needing quick-reliever or rescue medication.
The treatment of exacerbations requires the use of systemic corticosteroids (oral or injectable), contributing to the increase in the cumulative doses of said drug, which can cause significant adverse effects or other associated diseases. It should be noted that in the presence of an asthma attack, all the available evidence makes it clear that the risk/benefit ratio favors the use of systemic corticosteroids, despite their adverse effects.
National Asthma Law, an opportunity to grow
Faced with the lack of Asthma Programs and Health Policies, to respond to this great problem, work is being done by different Scientific Societies such as the Argentine Association of Respiratory Medicine (AAMR), the Argentine Association of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (AAAeIC) and the Argentine Society of Medicine (SAM), the NGO GANOA and the Argentine Association of Patients with Asthma.
These institutions formed an Advisory Group in order to propose the National Asthma Law that allows training, education, prevention, and fundamentally access to treatment, so that patients can lead a dignified and quality life. The bill was presented in May 2022 and is waiting to be discussed.
