Estimation of Worldwide Burden of Smoking-Related Asthma

BACKGROUND: Although there is solid evidence that active cigarette-smoking interplays with asthma, no recent information has been published on the worldwide burden of smoking-related asthma. METHODS: An electronic search was carried out in the Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) registry, using the keywords "asthma" and "smoking." Asthma-related population burden was expressed as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). RESULTS: Although smoking-related DALYs for asthma has consistently declined by approximately 20% over the last 3 decades, the burden remains high, accounting for 9.3% of the cumulative 22.8 million DALYs caused by asthma around the world. Across all ages, the burden of smoking-related DALYs for asthma is greater in men than in women and reaches a peak in both sexes at the age of 55-70 years. Europe is the continent with the greatest burden of smoking-related DALYs for asthma, followed by western Pacific nations and Southeast Asia, whilst the least burden is seen in Africa. CONCLUSIONS: The specific asthmatic populations identified with our search shall be specifically targeted with health care policies aimed at decreasing the impact of cigarette-smoking on their asthma condition and thereby contributing to lower the clinical, societal, and economic burden of smoking-related asthma.