• Mi-Yeong Kim, Eun-Jung Jo, Sujeong Kim, Min-Hye Kim, Jae-Woo Jung, Joo-Hee Kim, Ji-Yong Moon, Jae-Woo Kwon, Jae-Hyun Lee, Chan Sun Park, Hyun Jung Jin, Yoo Seob Shin, Sae-Hoon Kim, Young-Joo Cho, Jung-Won Park, Sang-Heon Cho, Tae-Bum Kim, and Hye-Kyung Park.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2022 Feb 21; 37 (7): e57.

BackgroundSome reports have suggested that the clinical and economic burdens of asthma are associated with blood eosinophil levels. The association between clinical burden and blood eosinophil counts were evaluated in a Korean adult asthma cohort.MethodsClinical information including blood eosinophil counts that were not affected by systemic corticosteroids were extracted from the Cohort for Reality and Evolution of Adult Asthma in Korea database. Clinical burden was defined as 1) asthma control status, 2) medication demand and 3) acute exacerbation (AE) events during 1 consecutive year after enrollment. All patients were divided into atopic and non-atopic asthmatics. The associations between asthma outcomes and the blood eosinophil count were evaluated.ResultsIn total, 302 patients (124 atopic and 178 non-atopic asthmatics) were enrolled. In all asthmatics, the risk of severe AE was higher in patients with blood eosinophil levels < 100 cells/µL than in patients with levels ≥ 100 cells/µL (odds ratio [OR], 5.406; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.266-23.078; adjusted P = 0.023). Among atopic asthmatics, the risk of moderate AE was higher in patients with blood eosinophil levels ≥ 300 cells/µL than in patients with levels < 300 cells/µL (OR, 3.558; 95% CI, 1.083-11.686; adjusted P = 0.036). Among non-atopic asthmatics, the risk of medication of Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) steps 4 or 5 was higher in patients with high blood eosinophil levels than in patients with low blood eosinophil levels at cutoffs of 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 cells/µL.ConclusionThe baseline blood eosinophil count may predict the future clinical burden of asthma.© 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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