Prevalence of Comorbidities among United States Adults with asthma and Their Association with Asthma Severity

Introduction The burden of comorbidities in asthma patients significantly affects management strategies and outcomes. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence and trends of comorbidities among adults with asthma and to investigate their association with persistent asthma. Methods The study employed data from the Asthma Call-Back Survey (ACBS) to ascertain the prevalence and trends of comorbidities in adults with asthma. Comorbidities were self-reported binary responses. Asthma severity was categorized as intermittent or persistent based on established methodologies to derive asthma severity in the ACBS. Intermittent asthma includes those with current asthma who are well-controlled without being on long-term control medication (LTCM). Persistent asthma includes those on LTCM, regardless of asthma control status, and those not on LTCM whose asthma is not well controlled or is very poorly controlled. Weighted logistic regression controlling for confounders was used to determine the association of comorbidities and asthma severity. Results Prevalence of comorbidities in adults with asthma were as follows: hypertension (38.4%), major depressive disorder (35.2%), diabetes (17.2%), MI (5.3%), Angina/CHD (6.0%), Stroke (5.0%), and Emphysema/Chronic bronchitis/COPD (19.0%). Prevalence of all comorbidities were higher among adults with persistent asthma compared to intermittent asthma. MI, Angina/CHD, obesity, depression, COPD/emphysema/chronic bronchitis, and hypertension were associated with increased odds of persistent asthma. No association was found between diabetes, stroke, and persistent asthma. Conclusion Comorbidities are associated with persistent asthma. These findings suggest a need for comprehensive healthcare strategy that address these intertwined health conditions along asthma. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced are available online at https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/acbs/index.htm