The burden of disease in people with mild asthma

What is it about?

Asthma is a long-term lung disease that affects many people worldwide. Often people with asthma are grouped based on whether their doctor thinks they have mild, moderate or severe disease. Although more than half of people with asthma are thought to have mild disease, the impact of mild asthma on people’s lives is unclear. In this ‘real-world’ global study, we found that in people considered by their doctor as having mild asthma, the disease had a considerable burden on their lives. Nearly one-third (30%) of people considered to have mild asthma still experienced frequent asthma symptoms over the previous 4 weeks. In a year, nearly one in four (23%) people considered to have mild asthma had at least one asthma attack, and one in ten (10%) reported visiting a hospital or clinic due to an asthma attack. Of those employed, more than one in ten (11%) missed work in the previous week because of their asthma.

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Why is it important?

At present, a lot of asthma research focuses on people who have more severe asthma. Our findings show that people who are classed as having mild asthma by their doctors also experience a substantial burden of disease.