Asthma prevalence in southern Spain

Background and objectivesAsthma is a chronic respiratory condition with varying prevalence across different regions and populations. In Andalusia, there is lack of detailed data on the characteristics of asthma patients, limiting effective clinical management and healthcare planning. This study aims to characterize asthma-diagnosed patients in Andalusia. Materials and methodsTo our knowledge this study represents the largest cohort of asthma patients in Spain. We characterized 726006 asthmatic patients based on prevalence, exacerbations, comorbidities and pharmacological treatment. We covered the overall population with sub-analyses based on rural and urban distinctions and geographical differences. ResultsThe overall asthma prevalence in Andalusia was 8,57%. The disease was more prevalent in females, although it was more common in males until the age of 15. The most frequent comorbidities was arthrosis, spondylosis. 70,73% of newly diagnosed asthma patients received treatment. For those who did SABA (31,56%), LTRA (16,13%) and systemic glucocorticoids (13,94%) were the most common therapies. After initial treatment, 35,15% of patients did not receive follow-up care, 28,68% stepped-up, 20,75% stepped-down and 15,43% switched treatments. ConclusionsThe obtained results expect to provide a detailed characterization of the Andalusian population including prevalence, comorbidities and treatment trajectories aligned with other Spanish regions. In addition, there were found geographical discrepancies with regard to asthma prevalence when comparing rural-urban settings and coastal-inland regions.