Baseline characteristics of severe asthmatics in the old and new federal states of Germany

<bold>Background:</bold> Currently, no comparative data exist on the baseline characteristics of patients with severe asthma in the old and new federal states of Germany. This analysis is based on data from the German Asthma Net's severe asthma registry. <bold>Methods:</bold> Data from 2669 adult patients were evaluated, including 217 from the eastern and 2452 from the western German states. <bold>Results:</bold> The registry included a significantly higher proportion of female patients in the eastern states (65%) compared with the western states (58.3%). Age distribution was similar between the two regions (median age of 56 yrs. in the East and 55 yrs. in the West). BMI values were also comparable in both groups (East: 27.7 kg/m2, West: 26.7 kg/m2). However, there was a significant difference in smoking status (6% current smokers in the East compared to 2.7% in the West). The FEV-1 values in asthma patients were higher in the western states than in the East (West: 66%, East: 62.5%). Asthma control was similar across both regions (median ACT score: East 13, West 14; median ACQ score 2.6 vs. 2.8). Significant differences were found in key biomarkers: In the eastern states the median eosinophil count was 365/μl vs. 240/μl in the western states. The median total IgE was 288 IU/ml in eastern Germany compared to 172 IU/ml in the West. FeNO values were comparable in both regions (East: 31 ppb, West: 34 ppb). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Patients with severe asthma in eastern and western Germany show no differences in gender distribution, age and asthma control. However, the proportion of current smokers is significantly higher in the eastern states, as are the median levels of key biomarkers such as blood eosinophils and total IgE.