Susan Langer1, Johannes Horn1, Alexander Kluttig1, Rafael Mikolajczyk1, Stefan Karrasch2,3,4, Holger Schulz2,4, Heinz-Erich Wichmann2, Jakob Linseisen5,6, Lina Jaeschke7, Tobias Pischon7,8,9,10, Julia Fricke11, Thomas Keil11,12,13, Wolfgang Ahrens14,15, Kathrin Günther14, Oliver Kuß16, Tamara Schikowski17, Börge Schmidt18, Karl-Heinz Jöckel18, Karin B Michels19, Claus-Werner Franzke19, Heiko Becher20, Annika Jagodzinski21,22,23, Stefanie Castell24, Yvonne Kemmling24, Wolfgang Lieb25, Sabina Waniek25, Kerstin Wirkner26,27, Markus Löffler26,27, Rudolf Kaaks28, Karin Halina Greiser28, Klaus Berger29, Nicole Legath29, Claudia Meinke-Franze30, Sabine Schipf30, Michael Leitzmann31, Hansjörg Baurecht31, Korbinian Weigl32, Efrat Amitay32, Cornelia Gottschick33. 1. Institut für Medizinische Epidemiologie, Biometrie und Informatik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Str. 8, 06112, Halle (Saale), Deutschland. 2. Institut für Epidemiologie, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt, München, Deutschland. 3. Institut und Poliklinik für Arbeits‑, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, Klinikum der Universität München, München, Deutschland. 4. Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), Mitglied des Deutschen Zentrums für Lungenforschung (DZL), München, Deutschland. 5. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Lehrstuhl für Epidemiologie, UNIKA-T Augsburg, Augsburg, Deutschland. 6. Klinische Epidemiologie, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt, München, Deutschland. 7. Forschergruppe Molekulare Epidemiologie, Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (MDC), Berlin, Deutschland. 8. Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Deutschland. 9. Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung (DZHK), Partnerstandort Berlin, Berlin, Deutschland. 10. MDC/BIH Biobank, Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (MDC) und Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Deutschland. 11. Institut für Sozialmedizin, Epidemiologie und Gesundheitsökonomie, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Deutschland. 12. Institut für Klinische Epidemiologie und Biometrie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Deutschland. 13. Landesinstitut für Gesundheit, Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit, Bad Kissingen, Deutschland. 14. Leibniz-Institut für Präventionsforschung und Epidemiologie - BIPS, Bremen, Deutschland. 15. Institut für Statistik, Fachbereich Mathematik und Informatik, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Deutschland. 16. Leibniz-Zentrum für Diabetes-Forschung an der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Institut für Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Deutsches Diabetes-Zentrum (DDZ), Düsseldorf, Deutschland. 17. IUF - Leibniz-Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung gGmbH, Düsseldorf, Deutschland. 18. Institut für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Essen, Deutschland. 19. Institut für Prävention und Tumorepidemiologie, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Medizinische Fakultät, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Deutschland. 20. Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Deutschland. 21. Klinik für Allgemeine und Interventionelle Kardiologie, Universitäres Herz- und Gefäßzentrum Hamburg - Eppendorf, Hamburg, Deutschland. 22. Deutsches Zentrum für Herzkreislaufforschung, Hamburg, Deutschland. 23. Epidemiologisches Studienzentrum, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg - Eppendorf, Hamburg, Deutschland. 24. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, Braunschweig, Deutschland. 25. Institut für Epidemiologie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Kiel, Deutschland. 26. Institut für Medizinische Informatik, Statistik und Epidemiologie (IMISE), Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Deutschland. 27. LIFE-Forschungszentrum für Zivilisationskrankheiten, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Deutschland. 28. Abteilung Epidemiologie von Krebserkrankungen, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Deutschland. 29. Institut für Epidemiologie und Sozialmedizin, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Deutschland. 30. Institut für Community Medicine, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Deutschland. 31. Institut für Epidemiologie und Präventivmedizin, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Deutschland. 32. Abt. Klinische Epidemiologie und Alternsforschung, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Deutschland. 33. Institut für Medizinische Epidemiologie, Biometrie und Informatik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Str. 8, 06112, Halle (Saale), Deutschland. cornelia.gottschick@uk-halle.de.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in both children and adults. Asthma first occurring in adulthood (adult-onset asthma, AOA) is associated with poorer prognosis compared to childhood-onset asthma (COA), which urgently calls for more research in this area. The aim of this work was to analyze the data on asthma collected in the German National Cohort and compare it with the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS), in particular regarding AOA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our analysis was based on the dataset of the main questionnaire at mid-term of the German National Cohort baseline examination, comprising 101,723 participants. Variables considered in the analyses were self-reported diagnosis of asthma, age at first diagnosis, asthma treatment in the past 12 months, age, and sex. RESULTS: In the midterm dataset, 8.7% of women and 7.0% of men in the German National Cohort reported that they had ever been diagnosed with asthma. Approximately one third of participants with asthma received their initial diagnosis before their 18th birthday. COA affected 2.2% of women and 2.8% of men, whereas AOA affected 6.5% of women and 4.2% of men. During the previous 12 months, 33% of COA cases and 60% of AOA cases were medically treated. CONCLUSION: The proportion of persons affected by asthma in the German National Cohort, as well as observed patterns regarding age and gender, corresponds to other data sources such as DEGS. However, in our analysis, the proportion of individuals with AOA was higher than described in the literature. The increase in cumulative asthma diagnoses with age is markedly steeper in younger participants, indicating a rising trend over time.
BACKGROUND: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in both children and adults. Asthma first occurring in adulthood (adult-onset asthma, AOA) is associated with poorer prognosis compared to childhood-onset asthma (COA), which urgently calls for more research in this area. The aim of this work was to analyze the data on asthma collected in the German National Cohort and compare it with the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS), in particular regarding AOA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our analysis was based on the dataset of the main questionnaire at mid-term of the German National Cohort baseline examination, comprising 101,723 participants. Variables considered in the analyses were self-reported diagnosis of asthma, age at first diagnosis, asthma treatment in the past 12 months, age, and sex. RESULTS: In the midterm dataset, 8.7% of women and 7.0% of men in the German National Cohort reported that they had ever been diagnosed with asthma. Approximately one third of participants with asthma received their initial diagnosis before their 18th birthday. COA affected 2.2% of women and 2.8% of men, whereas AOA affected 6.5% of women and 4.2% of men. During the previous 12 months, 33% of COA cases and 60% of AOA cases were medically treated. CONCLUSION: The proportion of persons affected by asthma in the German National Cohort, as well as observed patterns regarding age and gender, corresponds to other data sources such as DEGS. However, in our analysis, the proportion of individuals with AOA was higher than described in the literature. The increase in cumulative asthma diagnoses with age is markedly steeper in younger participants, indicating a rising trend over time.
Entities:
Keywords:
Asthma; Chronic diseases; Cohort study; General population; Respiratory diseases