Asthma attack rates seen at GP surgeries fell during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
Asthma attacks (exacerbations) are bouts of shortness of breath, wheezing, or a tight chest. The UK usually sees more than six million GP consultations and 1400 deaths attributed to asthma every year.
Researchers suggest lower air pollution levels, fewer cold and flu infections, and the fear of attending doctor surgeries due to COVID-19 as possible reasons.
The study consists of data from more than 100,000 patients and is the first national review in the UK of lockdown effects on asthma attacks.
Researchers looked at a national GP database and identified 100,165 who had had at least one asthma attack since 2016.
General Practitioner visits for asthma attacks were counted in weekly blocks from January to August 2020 and then compared with weekly rates for January to August 2016-2019. March 23, 2020, was used as the lockdown start date.
Across all ages, drops in GP visits for asthma attacks during the lockdown were seen for both men and women and across all England regions excluding the North East and London.
Only milder attacks decreased during the pandemic as there was no drop in the rate of asthma attacks that resulted in a hospital visit.
Dr. Ahmar Shah, lead researcher, said, "It is unclear whether this was an actual improvement in asthma or whether patients were reluctant to attend their doctor's surgery during the pandemic. Further research will help explain the reasons behind our findings."
The researchers explain that some patients could have gone to the hospital without a GP referral, which may jave masked the higher rates of asthma attacks.
Source-Medindia
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