RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Pharmacological treatment of asthma in a cohort of adults during a 20-year period: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey I, II and III JF ERJ Open Research JO erjor FD European Respiratory Society SP 00073-2018 DO 10.1183/23120541.00073-2018 VO 5 IS 1 A1 Janson, Christer A1 Accordini, Simone A1 Cazzoletti, Lucia A1 Cerveri, Isa A1 Chanoine, Sebastien A1 Corsico, Angelo A1 Ferreira, Diogenes Seraphim A1 Garcia-Aymerich, Judith A1 Gislason, David A1 Nielsen, Rune A1 Johannessen, Ane A1 Jogi, Rain A1 Malinovschi, Andrei A1 Martinez-Moratalla Rovira, Jesús A1 Marcon, Alessandro A1 Pin, Isabelle A1 Quint, Jennifer A1 Siroux, Valerie A1 Almar, Enrique A1 Bellisario, Valeria A1 Franklin, Karl A. A1 Gullón, José A. A1 Holm, Mathias A1 Heinrich, Joachim A1 Nowak, Dennis A1 Sánchez-Ramos, José Luis A1 Weyler, Joost J. A1 Jarvis, Deborah YR 2019 UL http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/5/1/00073-2018.abstract AB Asthma often remains uncontrolled, despite the fact that the pharmacological treatment has undergone large changes. We studied changes in the treatment of asthma over a 20-year period and identified factors associated with the regular use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment.Changes in the use of medication were determined in 4617 randomly selected subjects, while changes in adults with persistent asthma were analysed in 369 participants. The study compares data from three surveys in 24 centres in 11 countries.The use of ICSs increased from 1.7% to 5.9% in the general population and the regular use of ICSs increased from 19% to 34% among persistent asthmatic subjects. The proportion of asthmatic subjects reporting asthma attacks in the last 12 months decreased, while the proportion that had seen a doctor in the last 12 months remained unchanged (42%). Subjects with asthma who had experienced attacks or had seen a doctor were more likely to use ICSs on a regular basis.Although ICS use has increased, only one-third of subjects with persistent asthma take ICSs on a regular basis. Less than half had seen a doctor during the last year. This indicates that underuse of ICSs and lack of regular healthcare contacts remains a problem in the management of asthma.Despite increased ICS use, only 34% of subjects with persistent asthma take ICSs on a regular basis; <50% have seen a doctor in the last year. Underuse of ICSs and lack of regular healthcare contacts remains a problem in asthma. http://ow.ly/GUZ630mZkVN