Asthma patients in Greece found to have fewer asthma exacerbations and steroid-related diseases compared to global patterns in new study from ISAR
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Greek patients with severe asthma were found to have a notably lower asthma exacerbation rate compared with patients globally, while long-term oral corticosteroid (LTOCS) use, and importantly evidence of steroid-related disease, was substantially lower in Greece compared with Southern Europe and global rates.
Differences in severe asthma characteristics, treatment patterns, and disease control between Greece, Southern Europe, and the global population have been identified in the real-world study, “Geographical variability in severe asthma: comparison of patients’ characteristics between national, regional and international cohorts in ISAR”, recently published in The Journal of Asthma. The study analysed data from the International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR), comparing patients from Greece (n=206), Southern Europe (n=3,406), and the global ISAR population (n>16,000). ISAR is a global, adult severe asthma registry established in 2017 by international severe asthma experts in collaboration with Optimum Patient Care Global (OPCG) and AstraZeneca.
The study additionally identified notable differences in inflammatory characteristics between populations, with Greek patients found to have lower levels of key inflammatory biomarkers, including fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and blood eosinophil counts, compared with Southern Europe and the global population. These findings give greater insight into the mechanisms at work and highlight the importance of personalised treatment pathways.
Importantly, the study also underscores critical opportunities to improve patient care, with Greece found to have the highest proportion of patients with uncontrolled asthma (60.3%) versus Southern Europe (35.6%), and a greater frequency of osteoporosis, indicating a need for increased awareness and targeted screening.
Dr Maria Kallieri, lead author of the study, states the findings “Highlight opportunities to further improve patient outcomes through more individualised and region-specific approaches to care, stressing that strategies should reflect local patient characteristics, healthcare practices, and comorbidity burden”. She adds that “Adoption of multidisciplinary approaches to comorbidity management and earlier optimisation of targeted therapies are vital to reduction of disease burden and improvement to outcomes for severe asthma patients worldwide”.
To learn more about this study, please read the full publication in The Journal of Asthma, as well as the accompanying slide deck.
ISAR is conducted by the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute (OPRI) Pte Ltd and was co-funded by Optimum Patient Care Global (OPCG) and AstraZeneca. ISAR is operated by OPCG and co-funded by OPCG and AstraZeneca.
About OPRI
The Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute (OPRI) is an internationally recognized independent research organization dedicated to providing real-world evidence that supports best practices in chronic disease management in primary care. Learn more at https://www.opri.org.uk/. For media inquiries and additional information, please contact https://www.opri.org.uk/contact.
About ISAR
The International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) is the first global adult severe asthma registry, providing a rich, standardized dataset to advance research, clinical practice, and policy in severe asthma care. Since its establishment in 2017, ISAR has recruited >38,000 patients from 32 countries, and achieved 41 publications. ISAR fosters international collaboration to improve outcomes for patients worldwide. Learn more at https://www.isar.opcglobal.org.
About OPC
Optimum Patient Care (OPC) has over 20 years of experience supporting primary care within the United Kingdom. OPC counts on a diversity of the best professionals in the UK lead by Professor David Price. We make a difference to patients, using real-life research. Contact us at: info@optimumpatientcare.org
