TY - JOUR T1 - Lung function decline in adult asthmatics. A 10-year follow-up JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - P2275 AU - Giuseppina Cuttitta AU - Salvatore Bucchieri AU - Fabio Cibella AU - Mario Melis AU - Giovanni Viegi Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2275.abstract N2 - Conflicting results exist regarding the rate of lung function decline in asthmatics. We evaluated the longitudinal changes in FEV1 in asthmatic outpatients during a 10-year follow-up comparing the 1st period (years 1-5) with the 2nd period (years 6-10) also identifying factors affecting changes in functional decline. We studied 105 asthmatics (45 M, aged 18-76 years) with clinical and functional asthma diagnosis. Spirometry was performed every 3 months. FEV1 variability at the 1st year was computed. Short term treatments with oral steroids (OS) were used as needed. The best FEV1 measures at 1st, 5th and 10th year were evaluated and normalized for the subject's height at third power (FEV1/Ht3). The slopes FEV1/Ht3 vs time during the 1st and 2nd periods were evaluated. We evaluated the effect of body mass index, baseline FEV1, age at enrolment, age of disease onset, disease duration, allergic sensitization, number of OS courses, and FEV1 variability on FEV1 decay slopes. Median FEV1/Ht3 slope values were -.013 and -.006 (l/m3/year) for the 1st and 2nd period, respectively (p<0.0001). No correlation was found between the slopes of the two periods. 1st period slopes were correlated to FEV1 variability (p<0.0001), but such correlation was not found for 2nd period slopes. Negative relationship between 1st period slopes and long term reversibility was found (p=0.006). Subjects with disease duration≤5 years had steeper 1st period slopes (p=0.04). A relationship was found between 1st period slopes and the number of OS courses (p=0.002). In conclusion, FEV1 decay in treated adult asthmatics is not constant. In particular, it slows down over time, and is influenced by some subjects' clinical and functional characteristics. ER -