Adults With Asthma Should Get Flu Shots

But two-thirds don't, a new survey finds

TUESDAY, Sept. 9, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Adults with asthma are advised to get flu shots annually, yet only a third do so, a new U.S. government survey finds.

Younger adults with asthma are even less likely to head the advice, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in the September issue of Chest. Only 21 percent of asthmatics aged 18 to 49 got the flu vaccine in 2001, the researchers say.

The recommendation exists because people with asthma are considered a high-risk group for developing flu-linked complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis and ear infections.

Other studies have found the flu vaccine rate among children with asthma is low, but less study had been done on how well adults adhere to the recommendation.

The lack of compliance is partly due to a misconception, says Dr. Seymour Williams, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health and a co-author of the report. Many people with asthma think a flu shot worsens their condition, he says.

Actually flu can trigger asthma attacks, Williams says. If you catch influenza and have asthma, you get a double whammy, he says. But getting the vaccine annually results in one less trigger for asthma, he adds.

Asthma is a chronic disease in which airflow in and out of the lungs may be blocked by muscle squeezing, swelling and excess mucus. An asthmatic's airways become narrowed and inflamed, resulting in wheezing and/or coughing symptoms, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The flu-vaccine recommendation for those with asthma is long-standing, yet people remain unaware of it, fail to comply or both. Williams and his colleagues used data from the National Health Interview Survey, a sampling of the U.S. population that began in the 1960s. They found that among respondents with asthma, only 35.1 percent got a flu vaccine in 1999, only 36.7 percent in 2000 and 33.3 percent in 2001.

When they looked at asthma patients aged 18 to 49, the researchers found that only 20.9 percent got the vaccine in 1999, 22.7 percent in 2000 and 21.1 percent in 2001.

The higher the educational level, the more likely a person was to get vaccinated, they found.

Williams says all doctors should make sure their asthmatic patients are aware of the recommendation.

Flu, caused by a virus, strikes about 10 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population every year, according to the CDC, and about 36,000 people die from the illness annually. Symptoms include fever, body aches, fatigue and cough. Most people recover in one to two weeks if there are no complications.

Vaccines are designed to target the flu strain expected to be prevalent during the upcoming season.

Flu season generally runs from October to mid-May, Williams says, and October and November are the best months to get the vaccine so there's enough time to stimulate the immune system to resist the infection. Late November or early December is less ideal, but he wouldn't discourage people from getting the shot at that time.

Dr. Stephen Wasserman, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, says the new study underscores what doctors already know.

"We all know that flu vaccine is not as aggressively pursued by patients or their physicians as it should be," he says.

With his patients, he says, "we tell them they need it and we provide it."

"Most people think flu vaccine is for older people. I recommend it to all my asthmatic patients," Wasserman says.

Wasserman also cautions his patients that getting a flu shot is not a cure-all for asthma. Lots of viral illnesses that trigger asthma are not influenza, he tells them. But getting vaccinated can still be a great help to staying healthy.

More information

For flu facts, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information on asthma and flu shots, see the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

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