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Asthma knowledge limited among elderly Turkish patients

Almost half of the elderly patients with asthma in a Turkish study knew very little about the disease, and 73% of them did not know how to properly use an inhaler, according to study data.

“The present study found that older patients with asthma had limited asthma self-management knowledge and worse asthma control and showed improper use of the inhaler device,” A.B. Ozturk, MD, department of allergy and immunology, Koç University, School of Medicine, in Istanbul, and colleagues wrote. “Educational level in these elderly patients was low; they did not use the Internet for asthma education, and the only source of asthma knowledge for such patients was physician-managed usual asthma care.”

Ozturk and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 82 elderly patients with asthma who were admitted to Koç University’s allergy outpatient clinic from September 2013 to April 2014. Patients were aged 60 years or older and underwent an asthma knowledge questionnaire, an asthma control test, skin prick testing, spirometry, and evaluation of inhaler device technique. Fifty-two percent of patients had uncontrolled asthma.

The baseline questionnaire included queries on demographics, level of education, clinical features of asthma, family history of atopy, smoking status and concomitant chronic diseases.

Seventy-nine percent of patients had less than a secondary level of education. Forty-eight percent had limited asthma knowledge, including details regarding asthma pathophysiology; roles of medications; skill with inhaler, spacer, holding chamber, and self-monitoring; and the proper use of rescue medication.

The researchers wrote while most asthma awareness programs are geared toward children and their caregivers, more programs are needed for the elderly population.

“Education about asthma should be developed for older adults based on their education level and clinical asthma characteristics,” Ozturk and colleagues wrote. “Older adults need to be involved in asthma education activities, and better asthma self-management education would lower the uncontrolled asthma rate in the elderly population.” – by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.