Asthma Care-Related Carbon Emissions Increased With Poorly Controlled Asthma
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 29, 2024 -- In the United Kingdom, poorly controlled asthma is associated with increased asthma care-related carbon emissions, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in Thorax.
Alexander J.K. Wilkinson, from East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust in the United Kingdom, and colleagues quantified the environmental impact of asthma care in the retrospective cohort healthCARe-Based envirONmental cost of treatment study. Estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United Kingdom associated with the management of well-controlled versus poorly controlled asthma were determined. A total of 236,506 patients with current asthma were analyzed; 47.3 percent had poorly controlled asthma at baseline.
The researchers found that the overall carbon footprint of asthma care in the United Kingdom was 750,540 tons carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)/year scaled to the national level; excess GHG emissions of 303,874 CO2e/year were contributed by poorly controlled asthma, which is equivalent to emissions from >124,000 U.K. houses. Poorly versus well-controlled asthma yielded a 3.1- and 8.1-fold higher overall and higher excess per-capita carbon footprint, respectively, which was mainly induced by short-acting β2-agonists, with smaller contributions seen from health care resource utilization.
"The present findings demonstrate that targeting improved asthma outcomes by mitigating the high burden of poorly controlled asthma may elicit significant declines in carbon emissions," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, which funded the study.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
![](/img/logo/vendor/healthday-logo.png)
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted February 2024
Read this next
Higher COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Tied to Decrease in Childhood Asthma Symptoms
WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 -- Higher COVID-19 vaccination rates are associated with a lower prevalence of parent-reported childhood asthma symptoms, according to a research letter...
AI-Assisted Contours Superior to Cognitively Defined Prostate Cancer Contours
WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 -- Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted definition of prostate cancer contours reduces underestimation of the extent of prostate cancer, according to a...
Mean Cost of Bringing New Drug to U.S. Market Is $879.3 Million
TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- The mean cost of developing a new drug for the U.S. market is estimated to be $879.3 million when both drug development failure and capital costs are...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.