High Rate of Inflammation-Related Comorbidities in Patients With Type 2 Diseases

Most patients with moderate-to-severe type 2 asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, or atopic dermatitis have an additional type 2 inflammatory condition, and many have 2 or more. Researchers published their findings in the journal Lung. 

“The high prevalence of coexisting diseases in these patients highlights the importance of assessing comorbidities as part of routine care and the need for an integrated, multidisciplinary treatment approach to address underlying type 2 inflammation,” wrote corresponding study author Asif H. Khan, MBBS, MPH, of Sanofi, Chilly-Mazarin, France, and coauthors.

The study included data from 761 physicians in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom reporting on 899 patients with moderate-to-severe asthma, 683 patients with moderate-to-severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and 1497 patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Researchers were interested in assessing the prevalence of coexisting type 2 inflammatory conditions—specifically, asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps—in the patient population.

According to the study, 66% of patients with asthma, 69% of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and 46% of patients with atopic dermatitis had at least 1 coexisting type 2 inflammatory disease. At least 2 coexisting type 2 inflammatory conditions were identified in 24% of those with asthma, 36% of those with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and 16% of those with atopic dermatitis. 

The study also assessed the severity of the coexisting conditions in patients with asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. In both conditions, type 2 inflammatory comorbidities tended to be mostly mild to moderate in severity.

Trends were similar in the United States and European cohorts, researchers reported.

“The high comorbidity burden highlighted in this study, in terms of number and severity of type 2 inflammatory conditions, suggests the importance of identifying patients with type 2 inflammation,” researchers wrote.

Reference:
Khan AH, Gouia I, Kamat S, Johnson R, Small M, Siddall J. Prevalence and severity distribution of type 2 inflammation-related comorbidities among patients with asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and atopic dermatitis. Lung. 2023;201(1):57-63. doi:10.1007/s00408-023-00603-z