Multimorbidity in severe asthma: resources and perspectives from severe asthma specialists and general respiratory physicians in SHARP

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Comorbidities often occur in severe asthma (SA) and negatively impact patient outcomes. Multimorbidity (MM) refers to the presence of multiple co-existing conditions but is often unappreciated. It is unclear how resources to address MM in SA, and physician perspectives of MM in SA, differ between SA specialists (SAS) and general respiratory physicians (GRP). <bold>Aim:</bold> To compare available multidisciplinary team (MDT) resources and physician perspectives on MM in SA between SAS and GRP. <bold>Methods:</bold> An online survey was circulated within SHARP to assess available resources to address MM and physician perspectives about MM in SA across Europe. <bold>Results:</bold> 495 responses were recorded from 25 European countries – 48% SAS, 52% GRP. SA patient exposure was greater for SAS, 20% of whom saw > 60 patients/month. Significantly more SAS (59%) than GRP (24%) had a Specialist MDT. SAS had better access to specialist nurses, physiotherapists and speech & language therapists within their MDT and greater referral access to external specialists. Comorbidities were more often routinely assessed by SAS (75%) than GRP (52%) and SAS more often stated that these heavily influenced their SA practice (80% v 56%). More SAS considered MM to an extremely high degree in SA (38% v 20%) and reported that MM heavily impacted health (90% v 77%) and SA (85% v 73%) outcomes. While more SAS felt sufficiently experienced to manage MM (70%v 43%), both SAS and GRP reported high MM training needs. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> SAS have better awareness of MM in SA and more resources to manage it. However, there are key gaps in MDT resources and training to manage MM optimally for both SAS and GRP.

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Published
2025-09-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.congress-2025.pa2575
Primary Topic
Chronic Disease Management Strategies
Type
article
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article

Multimorbidity in severe asthma: resources and perspectives from severe asthma specialists and general respiratory physicians in SHARP

Florin Mihălţan, Piotr Kuna, Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy, Anneke Ten Brinke et al.
Chronic Disease Management Strategies
article

Multimorbidity in severe asthma: resources and perspectives from severe asthma specialists and general respiratory physicians in SHARP

Florin Mihălţan, Piotr Kuna, Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy, Anneke Ten Brinke, Bilun Gemicioğlu, Marcus O. Butler, Liam Gabriel Heaney, Sabina Škrgat, Jacob K. Sont, Michael E. Hyland, Dóra Lúðvíksdóttir, Aruna T. Bansal, Georgio Walter Canonica, Ben Ainsworth, Florence Schleich, Edin Jusufović, Betty Frankemölle, Felix Wantke, Cláudia Loureiro, Zsuzsanna Csoma, Vratislav Sedlák, ARNAUD AB BOURDIN, Anna Freeman, Kristina Biekšienė, Sanja Popović‐Grle, Saša Rink, Apostolos Bossios, Stephanie Korn, Jörg D. Leuppi, Shane Hanon, Valentyna Yasinska, Kostas Samitas, Enrico Marco Heffler, Celeste Porsbjerg, Lauri Lehtimäki, Mehar Singh, Ineta Grisle, Dace Matisa
article en

Abstract

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Comorbidities often occur in severe asthma (SA) and negatively impact patient outcomes. Multimorbidity (MM) refers to the presence of multiple co-existing conditions but is often unappreciated. It is unclear how resources to address MM in SA, and physician perspectives of MM in SA, differ between SA specialists (SAS) and general respiratory physicians (GRP). <bold>Aim:</bold> To compare available multidisciplinary team (MDT) resources and physician perspectives on MM in SA between SAS and GRP. <bold>Methods:</bold> An online survey was circulated within SHARP to assess available resources to address MM and physician perspectives about MM in SA across Europe. <bold>Results:</bold> 495 responses were recorded from 25 European countries – 48% SAS, 52% GRP. SA patient exposure was greater for SAS, 20% of whom saw > 60 patients/month. Significantly more SAS (59%) than GRP (24%) had a Specialist MDT. SAS had better access to specialist nurses, physiotherapists and speech & language therapists within their MDT and greater referral access to external specialists. Comorbidities were more often routinely assessed by SAS (75%) than GRP (52%) and SAS more often stated that these heavily influenced their SA practice (80% v 56%). More SAS considered MM to an extremely high degree in SA (38% v 20%) and reported that MM heavily impacted health (90% v 77%) and SA (85% v 73%) outcomes. While more SAS felt sufficiently experienced to manage MM (70%v 43%), both SAS and GRP reported high MM training needs. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> SAS have better awareness of MM in SA and more resources to manage it. However, there are key gaps in MDT resources and training to manage MM optimally for both SAS and GRP.

University College Dublin (IE), Reykjavík University (IS), Queen's University Belfast (GB), Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LT), Karolinska University Hospital (SE), Humanitas University (IT), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), University Hospital Centre Zagreb (HR), University of Tuzla (BA), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (FI), Inserm (FR), University of Liège (BE), University of Applied Sciences Mainz (DE), University of Basel (CH), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE), Université de Montpellier (FR), Leiden University Medical Center (NL), Ljubljana University Medical Centre (SI), TeraView (United Kingdom) (GB), British Lung Foundation (GB), Bispebjerg Hospital (DK), Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra (PT), Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden (NL), University of Łódź (PL), Physiologie et Médecine Expérimentale du Coeur et des Muscles (FR), Chest Diseases Hospital (KW), Riga East University Hospital (LV), Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital (LV), National University Hospital of Iceland (IS), Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (TR), National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences (RO), Mind (GB), Medical University of Lodz (PL), Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association (SE), Plymouth Marjon University (GB), Tampere University (FI), Lung Foundation Netherlands (NL), University Clinical Center Tuzla (BA), Czech Society for Ornithology (CZ), Allergiezentrum Wien West (AT), Országos Korányi Tbc és Pulmonológiai Intézet (HU), University of Southampton (GB)
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Chronic Disease Management Strategies
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