Bad News for Baby Boomers With Asthma
Older adults face a tougher time controlling their asthma. New research suggests why.
FRIDAY, June 1, 2012 — As the number of candles on baby boomers' birthday cakes climbs, so does the number of older adults in the country with asthma. The current count, 3.1 million asthmatics 65 and older, is expected to double in the next 25 years, according to estimates from the United States Census Bureau.
This poses a problem for doctors and patients alike. "Asthma can be more difficult to treat in older adults," says lead study author Tolly Epstein, MD, an allergist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Cincinnati.
For this reason, Dr. Epstein and colleagues set out to pinpoint what makes asthma so tough to control in older patients. Physicians need the insight. Death rates among people with asthma ranked highest in adults 65 and older in a report released last month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
The University of Cincinnati researchers' findings, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, show a number of factors contribute — most notably obesity and traffic pollution.
Obesity and Traffic Making Matters Worse for Asthmatics
"Obesity by itself, even without air pollution, had an effect," Epstein explains, but "pollution had the biggest effect in people who were also obese. We're not sure exactly why."
While obesity is a known risk factor for difficult-to-control asthma in children and adults, it hasn't been looked at as fully in older asthmatics, says Epstein. There are a few different theories surrounding why obesity worsens asthma, she says, from inflammation patterns to body mechanics, such as how well an overweight person can expand his chest.
Traffic exhaust is another story. Exactly why it's worse on seniors is unclear and under-studied, according to the researchers. In their report, they hypothesize age-related decline in antioxidant defenses may make older asthmatics more susceptible to environmental air pollutants.
A separate study published last month found only 53 percent of asthmatic baby boomers use prescribed inhalers, a statistic that suggests they let their asthma go untreated.
That, at least, is something boomers with asthma can change — no diet or leaving highways in the dust required. They just need to communicate with their doctors and follow the treatment plans they prescribe.