The pattern of use of asthma medication in adolescents and young adults: A nationwide study on 2.2 million people

Pharmacological treatment of asthma is highly effective in controlling symptoms and improving quality of life. Within the last 15 years new drugs such as combinations of ICS and long-acting beta-2-agonists (LABA) and leukotriene modifiers for treating asthma has been introduced on the Danish market. Studies have shown that these drugs have changed the pattern of prescription, but most studies on prescription pattern of asthma medication have studied selected populations or population samples. The study aimed to identify patterns of use of asthma medication in adolescents and young adults in an unselected population. The study population comprised all Danish individuals aged 10-40 years at January 1 1996 (2,213,264 individuals). The population was followed until the end of 2006. From the national Danish prescription registry we collected data on all asthma medication (ATC code R03) claimed by the study population. At every year in the study period, beta-2-agonists were the most commonly claimed drug both in number of users and number of prescriptions. The first years of the study, there was an increasing use of LABA, but after the introduction of combined ICS and LABA, the use of LABA decreased whereas there was a steady increase in use of ICS and LABA in fixed combinations. When leukotriene modifiers were introduced in 1998, usage increased rapidly the first two years and then plateaued with only a small yearly increase. The use of theophyllines more than halved during the study. This study on the use of asthma medication in an unselected population shows a shift in the use of asthma medication, but short-acting beta-2-agonists remained the most frequently used drug.