Plaza V, Serra-Batlles J, Ferrer M, Morejón E
Departament de Pneumología, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.
Respiration. 2000;67(1):65-70. doi: 10.1159/000029465.
In the geriatric population, asthma tends to be overlooked. Moreover, typical symptoms of asthma may mimic chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
To compare the characteristics of asthma between elderly (>/=65 years) and adult (<65 years) asthma patients with regard to asthma severity, health-related quality of life, and direct expenditures for medical care generated by the disease.
A cross-sectional study was made in the asthmatic population older than 14 years in the area of Barcelona, Spain. Asthma severity was determined according to the International Consensus criteria of 1992. St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was used to measure the quality of life. Direct costs were calculated registering all costs generated by each patient per year.
The study population consisted of 282 adult asthmatics and 51 elderly asthmatics. Asthma was more severe in the elderly group (mild 10%, moderate 35%, severe 55%) than in the adult group (mild 47%, moderate 35%, severe 18%). Elderly asthmatics had significantly higher total SGRQ scores (48 vs. 35, p < 0.001) than adult asthmatics, as well as significantly higher scores for all subscales. Asthma-derived direct costs in elderly asthmatics (mean USD 1,490 vs. USD 773) were double those in adult asthmatics, mainly due to higher costs of hospitalization and medication in the elderly.
Asthma in elderly people as compared with asthma in adulthood was more severe and was associated with a worse health-related quality of life, and significantly higher expenditures for medical care.
在老年人群中，哮喘往往容易被忽视。此外，哮喘的典型症状可能与慢性支气管炎和肺气肿相似。
比较老年（≥65岁）和成年（<65岁）哮喘患者在哮喘严重程度、健康相关生活质量以及该疾病产生的医疗直接费用方面的哮喘特征。
在西班牙巴塞罗那地区对14岁以上的哮喘患者进行了一项横断面研究。根据1992年国际共识标准确定哮喘严重程度。使用圣乔治呼吸问卷（SGRQ）来衡量生活质量。通过记录每位患者每年产生的所有费用来计算直接成本。
研究人群包括282名成年哮喘患者和51名老年哮喘患者。老年组哮喘更严重（轻度10%，中度35%，重度55%），高于成年组（轻度47%，中度35%，重度18%）。老年哮喘患者的SGRQ总分（48对35，p<0.001）显著高于成年哮喘患者，所有子量表得分也显著更高。老年哮喘患者的哮喘直接成本（平均1490美元对773美元）是成年哮喘患者的两倍，主要是由于老年人住院和用药成本更高。
与成年哮喘相比，老年哮喘更严重，与更差的健康相关生活质量相关，且医疗费用显著更高。
