In this study we describing the characteristics of elderly patients with asthma of INER’s Asthma Clinic.
Methods: Descriptive, transversal, retrospective research. 168 patients with asthma diagnosis were included,60 years old and more,subjects with other respiratory diagnosis were excluded, as those with tobacco smoking of more than 10 packs , and those with exposure to other types of smoke.
Results: 86% of the study group were women, average age 68.7 years old, the Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1) average was of 76%. The 8.8% of patients had asthma diagnosed since childhood, and the rest onset with asthma symptoms at adulthood. Only 32% were submitted to skin prick tests; 4.5% suffered difficult asthma control; 56% of patients had overweight or obesity; 17.8% suffered Diabetes Mellitus type II, 37.5% had Arterial Systemic Hypertension and 3.75% had Ischemic Cardiopathy; 60% of patients had Gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and 5% presented Obstructive sleep apnea. Most of the patients had a good control in Asthma Control Test (ACT).
Conclusions: Asthma can initiate at any age, the advanced age is not directly associated to certain changes in airway remodeling, or not major disease severity. There’s a high persistence of co-morbilities. This study shows that it’s necessary to study this age group further, a group that is gradually on the increase.