Prevalence and burden of asthma in five European countries: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Objective: To evaluate the burden of asthma in five European countries (5EU; France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom [UK]).

Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted based on the data from the 2018 National Health and Wellness Survey. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), work productivity and activity impairment, and healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) were compared between different groups: asthma versus non-asthma, mild/moderate/severe asthma versus non-asthma and moderate/severe asthma versus mild asthma.

Settings: Internet-based survey across Western Europe.

Participants: Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) with self-reported physician diagnosis of asthma and experienced asthma symptoms in the past 12 months.

Outcome measures: Socio-demographic characteristics, asthma-related outcomes, HRQoL and productivity, HCRU and prevalence of asthma.

Results: The prevalence of asthma in the 5EU was 6.7% (95% CI: 6.5% to 6.9%), with the UK reporting the highest rates (10.4%; 95% CI: 9.9% to 10.9%). About 52.0% of the respondents had mild asthma, 27.9% had moderate and 20.1% had severe asthma. The asthma group reported significantly poorer HRQoL, higher rates of overall work productivity impairment and activity impairment, and a greater number of visits to emergency room, healthcare provider and hospitalisations versus the non-asthma group (all p<0.001). Similar trend was observed for all outcomes among respondents with moderate or severe versus mild asthma.

Conclusion: Asthma prevalence and burden are still high in Western Europe, indicating the need for effective interventions that could lead to improved outcomes.