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. 2019 Nov;74(11):2181-2190.
doi: 10.1111/all.13874. Epub 2019 Jun 11.

Oral corticosteroid use, morbidity and mortality in asthma: A nationwide prospective cohort study in Sweden

Magnus Ekström  1 , Bright I Nwaru  2   3 , Pål Hasvold  4 , Fredrik Wiklund  5 , Gunilla Telg  4 , Christer Janson  6
Affiliations

Oral corticosteroid use, morbidity and mortality in asthma: A nationwide prospective cohort study in Sweden

Magnus Ekström et al. Allergy. 2019 Nov.

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Allergy. 2020 Aug;75(8):2148-2148. doi: 10.1111/all.14233. Allergy. 2020. PMID: 32716085 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Background: Patterns and determinants of long-term oral corticosteroid (OCS) use in asthma and related morbidity and mortality are not well-described. In a nationwide asthma cohort in Sweden, we evaluated the patterns and determinants of OCS use and risks of OCS-related morbidities and mortality.

Methods: Data for 217 993 asthma patients (aged ≥ 6 years) in secondary care were identified between 2007 and 2014 using Swedish national health registries. OCS use at baseline was categorized: regular users (≥5 mg/d/y; n = 3299; 1.5%); periodic users (>0 but <5 mg/d/y; n = 49 930; 22.9%); and nonusers (0 mg/d/y; n = 164 765; 75.6%). Relative risks of becoming a regular OCS user and for morbidity and mortality were analysed using multivariable Cox regression.

Results: At baseline, 24% of asthma patients had used OCS during the last year and 1.5% were regular users. Of those not using OCS at baseline, 26% collected at least one OCS prescription and 1.3% became regular OCS users for at least 1 year during the median follow-up of 5.3 years. Age at asthma diagnosis, increasing GINA severity and Charlson Comorbidity Index were associated with regular OCS use. Compared to periodic and non-OCS use, regular use was associated with increased incidence of OCS-related morbidities and greater all-cause mortality, adjusted HR 1.34 (95% CI 1.24-1.45).

Conclusions: Oral corticosteroids use is frequent for asthma patients, and many are regular users. Regular OCS use is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. These findings indicate that there is a need of other treatment options for patients with severe asthma who are using regular OCS.

Keywords: asthma; corticosteroids; morbidity; mortality.

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Conflict of interest statement

PH and GT are employed by AstraZeneca. FW is employed at Statisticon for which AstraZeneca is a client. ME, BN and CJ report no conflict of interest relevant to this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study population
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative risk of oral corticosteroid (OCS) exposure in patients without OCS use at baseline
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of oral corticosteroid (OCS)‐related morbidities compared to OCS nonusers. Estimates were analysed as sub‐distribution hazard rates (SHR) using Fine‐Gray regression adjusted for age and sex, accounting for the competing risk of death
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cumulative incidence of cause‐specific death stratified by oral corticosteroid (OCS) exposure during baseline period [Color figure can be viewed at http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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