The lung condition that could also be a sign of three other major illnesses

Most people with severe asthma also suffer from health conditions that often go under the radar, including osteoporosis, eczema and chronic sinusitis, doctors warn in a new study.

As many as 10 per cent of asthma patients develop severe symptoms, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness, which are not well-controlled even with anti-inflammatory drugs like corticosteroids.

A “deeper understanding of patterns” in difficult-to-treat asthma could be the key to unlocking more effective treatment for patients hit hardest by the condition, according to the study published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health Europe by clinicians from the European Respiratory Society Clinical Research Collaboration.

One such pattern is identifying long-term health conditions that severe asthma patients often suffer from.

The clinicians analysed data from 2,700 patients in 11 European countries and found that nearly all suffered from at least one other major health issue, with most suffering three or more.

They especially identified three distinct symptom profiles that appeared consistently across patient groups.

A large number of severe asthma patients reported high rates of osteoporosis combined with weight gain caused by steroid treatments.

Many of them also reported eczema alongside hay fever, or rhinitis, as well as chronic sinusitis with growths in the respiratory channel called nasal polyps.

“The patterns we found were linked to how well asthma was controlled, how often attacks happened and the treatments needed," said Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Southampton who was involved in the study.

“Better understanding these patterns will help us look beyond asthma alone and improve the care for people living with severe asthma.”

The findings could lead to more effective personalised asthma care, the clinicians said.

“Obesity merits particular attention,” they said, noting that it seemed linked to steroid-induced weight gain.

Since several of the severe co-occurring conditions were steroid-linked, the doctors argued that there was a “need to eradicate oral steroid dependency in severe asthma management”.