Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.MIS), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Area of Geriatrics, Campus Biomedico University and Teaching Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Eur J Intern Med. 2014 Apr;25(4):336-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2014.01.004. Epub 2014 Jan 18.
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.
支气管哮喘是全球最常见的慢性疾病之一，根据定义，其不会随着年龄的增长而自行康复。然而，过去人们在很大程度上否认哮喘会影响老年人。在临床实践中，发生在高龄人群中的哮喘通常被诊断为 COPD，从而导致治疗不足或不当。老年哮喘的临床和功能表现存在异质性，包括部分可逆性和过敏性成分的丧失，这促成了这种误解。大量证据表明，高龄人群中哮喘的患病率与年轻人群相似。与年轻哮喘患者相比，老年患者常伴有合并症，加上与年龄相关的人类肺部变化，可能使哮喘的管理变得复杂。本文探讨了与老年哮喘的诊断和治疗相关的主要问题。
