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A personalized approach to treatment will save asthmatics money
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Bronchial asthma is a chronic disease, it is one of the most severe manifestations of allergy. In the world, there are from 4 to 10% of people suffering from respiratory disease.
Millions of people who use daily corticosteroids for mild asthma show no improvement and remain at the same levels as people who use the drug only when symptoms occur, a new study suggests.
These data will allow the development of new treatment methods, which in turn will change international standards of medical care and reduce patient costs, as well as provide a more flexible approach to the use of drugs, according to scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch.
"The fact that these two treatments are not significantly different may ultimately change the way doctors and patients think about treatment," said lead author Dr. William Calhoun, a professor and researcher in internal medicine. "Our findings build on significant previous research in this area. And just in time, because asthma is affecting people at an alarming rate, with people in underserved countries experiencing a particularly poor treatment."
In the United States, the number of people suffering from bronchial asthma is about 25 million people. Medical expenses are approximately $3,300 per person. In addition to expensive treatment, a person with asthma has a disruption to the normal rhythm of his social life - missed classes at school and sick leave from work. About 40% of deaths from asthma occur in people over 45 years of age.
There is an opinion that asthma treatment should be permanent, regardless of the manifestations of the disease. But the study proved the opposite.
The scientists' experiment involved 340 people with mild to moderate persistent asthma. The aim of the study was to analyze three different strategies for long-term treatment of this disease.
The first strategy involved constant monitoring of exhaled nitric oxide levels, the second strategy required patients to take medications only when symptoms of the disease appeared, and the third strategy required medication treatment as prescribed by a doctor (the doctor determines how much medication the patient will take based on what the patient says).
It turned out that each of the methods gives approximately the same results. Scientists concluded that an individual approach to the treatment of each patient will allow asthma sufferers to save considerable money that goes to asthma medications.
"We hope our findings will encourage patients to communicate more frequently with their doctors and become more active participants in developing their own treatment strategies," said lead author Professor William Calhoun.
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