Low socioeconomic position and neighborhood deprivation are associated with uncontrolled asthma in elderly

Sofia Temam (1, 2) , Sébastien Chanoine (3, 4) , Annabelle Bédard (1) , Orianne Dumas (1) , Margaux Sanchez (1) , Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault (1, 5) , Valérie Siroux (3) , Stéphane Rican (6) , Raphaëlle Varraso (1) , Nicole Le Moual (1)

1 VIMA - Vieillissement et Maladies chroniques : approches épidémiologique et de santé publique
2 UP11 UFR Médecine - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 - Faculté de médecine
3 IAB - Institute for Advanced Biosciences / Institut pour l'Avancée des Biosciences (Grenoble)
4 CHUGA - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire [CHU Grenoble]
5 CESP - Centre de recherche en épidémiologie et santé des populations
6 LADYSS - Laboratoire Dynamiques Sociales et Recomposition des Espaces

BACKGROUND: While uncontrolled asthma in adults is frequent in Europe, the impact of socioeconomic position (SEP) was little investigated. We aimed to investigate the respective association of individual- and area-level SEP with uncontrolled asthma among French elderly women. METHODS: Analyses were conducted in the Asthma-E3N study, among participants with current asthma (i.e., asthma attacks, treatment, or symptoms in previous year). Asthma control was evaluated using Asthma Control Test (uncontrolled: score ≤19); SEP was defined at both individual- and area-level, using educational level (low, medium, high), the French Deprivation index (tertiles defined at national level), and by merging them in a combined-SEP index. Associations between SEP and asthma control were estimated for 2258 women by logistic regression adjusted for age. Analyses were stratified by asthma controller medication use estimated through a drug reimbursement database. RESULTS: Women were 70 years on average and 24% had uncontrolled asthma. A low educational level (11%) was associated with an increased risk of uncontrolled asthma [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.9 (1.4,2.6)], especially among women not using controller medication [3.1 (1.9,5.1)]. Using the combined-SEP index, the highest risk of uncontrolled asthma was observed among women with the most disadvantaged socioeconomic profile (low educational level and low-SEP neighborhood) [2.5 (1.5,4.2)]. CONCLUSIONS: Women with low SEP had more often uncontrolled asthma, which might be partly explained by inadequate asthma treatment. To achieve the best management of asthma for elderly patients, a specific attention should be given not only to disadvantaged population and neighborhoods, but also to disadvantaged populations in affluent neighborhoods.

Domaines: Santé publique et épidémiologie

Sofia Temam, Sébastien Chanoine, Annabelle Bédard, Orianne Dumas, Margaux Sanchez, et al.. Low socioeconomic position and neighborhood deprivation are associated with uncontrolled asthma in elderly. Respiratory Medicine: COPD Update, 2019, 158, pp.70-77. ⟨10.1016/j.rmed.2019.09.010⟩. ⟨inserm-02468222⟩