Adverse outcomes in young adults with severe asthma; results from the UK-Severe Asthma Registry
Leanne-Jo Holmes, ARNS Research and Education sub committee member
Twenty years ago, I was a junior specialist nurse whose job included entering data into the UK Severe Asthma Registry (UKSAR). What I didn’t realise then was that this early exposure would spark a long‑term interest in research. Thanks to some fantastic mentors and support throughout my career, I’ve been able to grow that curiosity into a central part of my professional practice (now working a nurse consultant). I have had the privilege of using the very same national data to address an identified evidence gap, exploring and quantifying the outcomes of young adults with severe asthma in the UK. While we recognise that young adulthood is a turbulent period of life, in the context of severe asthma, there is little available data.
With on our study, we aimed to address this gap in knowledge and utilised the UKSAR to explore the outcomes of young adults compared against older age groups. We identified lower levels of adherence to inhaled therapy, higher levels of FeNO, higher rates of emergency department visits and hospitalisations and high levels of ITU admission. Furthermore we identified anxiety and depression is higher among this age group.
It has been a full‑circle journey: going from entering the data to interpreting it and providing recommendations to improve care for this cohort, Ultimately, further research is required to understand and address the identified results, which is something which is already in progress and will hopefully be shared in the not too distant future.
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- Leanne-Jo Holmes, ARNS Research and Education sub committee member