Multimorbidity Common in Patients With Severe Asthma

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By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, Senior Medical Editor, B. Pharm. Last updated on May 28, 2026.

via HealthDay

THURSDAY, May 28, 2026 -- For patients with severe asthma, multimorbidity is common and can be classified into phenotypes, according to a study published in the April issue of The Lancet Regional Health-Europe.

Anna Freeman, Ph.D., from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, and colleagues used cross-sectional patient data from the pan-European Severe Heterogenous Asthma Research Collaboration: Patient Centered Central database of national severe asthma registries to define multimorbidity phenotypes and their characteristics in severe asthma. To characterize the correlation structure of the 10 most common comorbidities within four European regions (North, South, East, and West), hierarchical clustering of comorbidities was applied.

Data were obtained for 2,690 patients with severe asthma and 23 comorbidities from 11 countries. The researchers found that across the four European regions, three comorbidity clusters were seen consistently: osteoporosis plus steroid-induced weight gain, eczema plus rhinitis, and chronic sinusitis plus nasal polyps. Variable clustering was seen for four further comorbidities (obesity, bronchiectasis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and psychological factors). Multimorbidity was very common. Based on comorbidity cluster alignment, patients were assigned multimorbidity phenotypes (MMP); the most common were sinonasal-associated MMP and no specific cluster alignment. Those with steroid-associated MMP had the highest maintenance oral steroid use and body mass index, as well as worst lung function, asthma control, and asthma exacerbation frequency. High prevalence of variably assigned comorbidities, higher maintenance oral steroid use and biologic treatment needs were seen for maximal multimorbidity MMP.

"Better understanding these patterns will help us look beyond asthma alone and improve the care for people living with severe asthma," lead author Ramesh J. Kurukulaaratchy, D.M., also from the University of Southampton, said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry, including several companies that provided funding for the study.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-05-29 03:14

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