The role of Prenatal Care and Social Risk Factors in the relationship between immigrant status and neonatal morbidity: A retrospective cohort study

Background and Aim Literature evaluating association between neonatal morbidity and immigrant status presents contradictory results. Poorer compliance with prenatal care and greater social risk factors among immigrants could play roles as major confounding variables, thus explaining contradictions. We examined whether prenatal care and social risk factors are confounding variables in the relationship between immigrant status and neonatal morbidity. Methods Retrospective cohort study: 231 pregnant African immigrant women were recruited from 2007–2010 in northern Spain. A Spanish population sample was obtained by simple random sampling at 1:3 ratio. Immigrant status (Spanish, Sub-Saharan and Northern African), prenatal care (Kessner Index adequate, intermediate or inadequate), and social risk factors were treated as independent variables. Low birth weight (LBW < 2500 grams) and preterm birth (< 37 weeks) were collected as neonatal morbidity variables. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) were estimated by unconditional logistic regression with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Positive associations between immigrant women and higher risk of neonatal morbidity were obtained. Crude OR for preterm births in Northern Africans with respect to nonimmigrants was 2.28 (95% CI: 1.04–5.00), and crude OR for LBW was 1.77 (95% CI: 0.74–4.22). However, after adjusting for prenatal care and social risk factors, associations became protective: adjusted OR for preterm birth = 0.42 (95% CI: 0.14–1.32); LBW = 0.48 (95% CI: 0.15–1.52). Poor compliance with prenatal care was the main independent risk factor associated with both preterm birth (adjusted OR inadequate care = 17.05; 95% CI: 3.92–74.24) and LBW (adjusted OR inadequate care = 6.25; 95% CI: 1.28–30.46). Social risk was an important independent risk factor associated with LBW (adjusted OR = 5.42; 95% CI: 1.58– 18.62). Conclusions Prenatal care and social risk factors were major confounding variables in the relationship between immigrant status and neonatal morbidity

Relationship between tobacco, cagA and vacA i1 virulence factors and bacterial load in patients infected by Helicobacter pylori

Background and Aim Several biological and epidemiological studies support a relationship between smoking and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) to increase the risk of pathology. However, there have been few studies on the potential synergistic association between specific cagA and vacA virulence factors and smoking in patients infected by Helicobacter pylori. We studied the relationship between smoking and cagA, vacA i1 virulence factors and bacterial load in H. pylori infected patients. Methods Biopsies of the gastric corpus and antrum from 155 consecutive patients in whom there was clinical suspicion of infection by H. pylori were processed. In 106 patients H. pylori infection was detected. Molecular methods were used to quantify the number of microorganisms and presence of cagA and vacA i1 genes. A standardized questionnaire was used to obtain patients’ clinical data and lifestyle variables, including tobacco and alcohol consumption. Adjusted Odds Ratios (ORadjusted) were estimated by unconditional logistic regression. Results cagA was significantly associated with active-smoking at endoscope: ORadjusted 4.52. Evidence of association was found for vacA i1 (ORadjusted 3.15). Bacterial load was higher in active-smokers, although these differences did not yield statistical significance (median of 262.2 versus 79.4 copies of H. pylori per cell). Conclusions The association between smoking and a higher risk of being infected by a virulent bacterial population and with higher bacterial load, support a complex interaction between H. pylori infection and environmental factors

AIRWAYS-ICPs (European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing) from concept to implementation

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that induce a significant burden. Asthma often occurs along the life cycle from early childhood, affecting 30 million children and adults under 45 years of age in Europe. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has an estimated annual death rate of over 3 million people globally. The annual direct and indirect costs in the 28 European Union (EU) countries due to COPD or asthma are estimated at 48 billion euros and 34 billion euros respectively. Rhinitis occurs in over 100 million people in Europe, and indirect costs are enormous. Asthma is a common risk factor for COPD. CRDs impact ageing and should be prevented, recognised and managed across the life cycle to promote active and healthy ageing (AHA). There is an urgent need to act globally. European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) aim to enhance EU competitiveness and tackle societal challenges through research and innovation. To tackle the potential of ageing in the EU, the European Commission, within its Innovation Union policy, launched the EIP on AHA (between the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG Santé) and Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT)). The B3 Action Plan promotes integrated care models for chronic diseases, including the use of remote monitoring. The initiative AIRWAYS-ICPs (integrated care pathways for airway diseases) has been approved by the EIP on AHA as the model of chronic diseases of the B3 Action Plan. It is a Research Demonstration Project of the World Health Organization's Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD). AIRWAYS-ICPs was initiated in 2013 by the WHO Collaborating Centre of Montpellier and the EIP on AHA Reference Site MACVIA-LR (Contre les MAladies Chroniques Pour un VIeillissement Actif en Languedoc-Roussillon, France) led by the Région Languedoc-Roussillon (France)

Integrated care pathways for airway diseases (AIRWAYS-ICPs)

The objective of Integrated Care Pathways for Airway Diseases (AIRWAYS-ICPs) is to launch a collaboration to develop multi-sectoral care pathways for chronic respiratory diseases in European countries and regions. AIRWAYS-ICPs has strategic relevance to the European Union Health Strategy and will add value to existing public health knowledge by: 1) proposing a common framework of care pathways for chronic respiratory diseases, which will facilitate comparability and trans-national initiatives; 2) informing cost-effective policy development, strengthening in particular those on smoking and environmental exposure; 3) aiding risk stratification in chronic disease patients, using a common strategy; 4) having a significant impact on the health of citizens in the short term (reduction of morbidity, improvement of education in children and of work in adults) and in the long-term (healthy ageing); 5) proposing a common simulation tool to assist physicians; and 6) ultimately reducing the healthcare burden (emergency visits, avoidable hospitalisations, disability and costs) while improving quality of life. in the longer term, the incidence of disease may be reduced by innovative prevention strategies. AIRWAYS-ICPs was initiated by Area 5 of the Action Plan B3 of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. All stakeholders are involved (health and social care, patients, and policy makers).Region Languedoc-RoussillonUniv Hosp Montpellier, Montpellier, FranceMACVIA LR, Fighting Chron Dis Hlth Ageing, Region Languedoc Roussil, FranceARIA, Montpellier, FranceEuropean Acad Allergy & Clin Immunol, Montpellier, FranceEuropean Innovat Partnership Act & Hlth Ageing, Montpellier, FranceEuropean Innovat Partnership Act & Hlth Ageing, Commitment Act B3, Montpellier, FranceUniv Montpellier I, Montpellier, FranceEuropean Innovat Partnership Act & Hlth Ageing, Regione Emilia Romagna, ItalyUniv London Imperial Coll Sci Technol & Med, Natl Heart & Lung Inst, London, EnglandRoyal Brompton & Harefield NIHR Biomed Res Unit, London, EnglandRomanian Alliance Chron Resp Dis, Brasov, RomaniaTransylvania Univ, Fac Med, Brasov, RomaniaUniv Barcelona, Hosp Clin Barcelona, IDIBAPS, Thorax Inst, Barcelona, SpainCIBER Enfermedades Resp, Barcelona, SpainHosp Clin Barcelona, FCRB, Barcelona, SpainUniv Pompeu Fabra, CIBER Epidemiol & Salud Publ CIBERESP, IMIM Hosp del Mar Med Res Inst, Ctr Res Environm Epidemiol CREAL, Barcelona, SpainGhent Univ Hosp, Dept Resp Med, Ghent, BelgiumGhent Univ Hosp, ENT Dept, Ghent, BelgiumCatholic Univ, Fac Med, Res Ctr Resp Med CIMER, Cordoba, ArgentinaChinese Med Assoc, Shanghai Resp Res Inst, Shanghai, Peoples R ChinaEuroAsian Resp Soc, Astana City, KazakhstanPortuguese Natl Programme Resp Dis, PNDR, Lisbon, PortugalUniv Cape Town, Fac Hlth Sci, Dept Med, Div Pulmonol, ZA-7700 Rondebosch, South AfricaHlth Innovat Ctr Southern Denmark, Region Southern Denmark, DenmarkUniv Amsterdam, Acad Med Ctr, NL-1105 AZ Amsterdam, NetherlandsBangladesh Lung Fdn, Dhaka, BangladeshNatl Inst Dis Chest & Hosp, Dhaka, BangladeshLinkoping Univ, Dept Clin & Expt Sci, Ctr Individualised Med, Linkoping, SwedenEuropean Innovat Partnership Act & Hlthy Ageing, Aura Andalucia, SpainAndalusian Healthcare Serv, Andalucia, SpainNHS England, London, EnglandOdense Univ Hosp, Odense Res Ctr Anaphylaxis, Dept Dermatol, DK-5000 Odense, DenmarkOdense Univ Hosp, Odense Res Ctr Anaphylaxis, Allergy Ctr, DK-5000 Odense, DenmarkUniv Milan, IRCCS Ca Granda, European Resp Soc, Milan, ItalyUniv Roma La Sapienza, Dept Publ Hlth & Infect Dis, I-00185 Rome, ItalyUniv Naples 2, Naples, ItalyItalian Natl Res Council, Inst Translat Med, Naples, ItalyUniv Laval, Inst Univ Cardiol & Pneumol Quebec, Quebec City, PQ, CanadaINSERM, U1046, Montpellier, FranceGlenfield Hosp, Leicester Resp Biomed Res Unit, Natl Inst Hlth Res, Leicester, Leics, EnglandUniv Glasgow, Inst Hlth & Wellbeing, Hlth Econ & Hlth Technol Assessment, Glasgow, Lanark, ScotlandMcMaster Univ, Dept Clin Epidemiol, Hamilton, ON, CanadaMcMaster Univ, Dept Biostat & Med, Hamilton, ON, CanadaMainz Univ Hosp, Med Ctr, Dept Pulm, Mainz, GermanyUniv London Imperial Coll Sci Technol & Med, Dept Paediat Resp Med, Royal Brompton Hosp, London, EnglandUniv Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa RicaUniv London Imperial Coll Sci Technol & Med, Royal Brompton Hosp, Sect Allergy & Clin Immunol, London, EnglandUniv Liverpool, Inst Ageing & Chron Dis, Liverpool L69 3BX, Merseyside, EnglandAintree Univ Hosp NHS Fdn Trust, Liverpool L9 7AL, Merseyside, EnglandUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Sch Med, Dept Pediat, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Genoa, IRCCS San Martino IST, Dept Internal Med, Genoa, ItalyUniv Oslo, Oslo, NorwayOslo Univ Hosp, Dept Paediat, Oslo, NorwayUniv Roma Tor Vergata, Dept Syst Med, Rome, ItalyUniv Simon Bolivar, Metropolitan Univ, Allergy & Immunol Lab, Barranquilla, ColombiaSoc Latinoamer Allergia Asma & Immunol, SLaai, Rome, ItalyIRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Rome, ItalyPeking & Ctr Asthma Res & Educ, Asthma Clin & Educ Ctr, Capital Inst Pediat, Natl Cooperat Grp Paediat Res Asthma, Beijing, Peoples R ChinaGrigol Robakidze Univ, David Tvildiani Med Univ, AIETI Med Sch, Chachava Clin, Tbilisi, Rep of GeorgiaInt Primary Care Resp Grp, Leiden, NetherlandsLeiden Univ, Dept Publ Hlth & Primary Care, Med Ctr, Leiden, NetherlandsWHO, Global Alliance Against Chron Resp Dis, GARD, Moscow, RussiaPulmonol Res Inst, Moscow, RussiaRussian Resp Soc, Moscow, RussiaNova SE Univ, Coll Osteopath Med, Davie, FL USANHS Scotland, European Innovat Partnership Act & Hlth Ageing, Glasgow, Lanark, ScotlandHull York Med Sch, Ctr Cardiovasc & Metab Res, Kingston Upon Hull, N Humberside, EnglandUniv Fed Bahia, Nucleo Excelencia Asma, ProAR, Salvador, BA, BrazilCNPq, Salvador, BA, BrazilUniv Manchester, Manchester, Lancs, EnglandKarolinska Inst, Inst Environm Med, Ctr Allergy Res, CfA, S-10401 Stockholm, SwedenSoc Francaise Allergol, Strasbourg, FranceStrasbourg Univ, Strasbourg, FranceEuropean Reg & Hlth Author, EUREGHA, Brussels, BelgiumUniv Med & Pharm Iuliu Hatieganu, Cluj Napoca, RomaniaUniv Versailles St Quentin, UPRES, EA 220, Suresnes, FranceSoc Pneumol Langue Francaise, Toulouse, FranceUniv Toulouse, Dept Resp Med, Toulouse, FranceParis Descartes Univ, Hop Cochin, AP HP, Serv Physiol,EA 2511, F-75674 Paris, FranceUniv Southampton, Fac Med, Southampton SO9 5NH, Hants, EnglandNIHR, Southampton Resp Biomed Res Unit, Southampton, Hants, EnglandUniv Ss Cyril & Methodius, Univ Clin Pulmol & Allergy, Skopje, MacedoniaCtr Hosp Univ Beni Messous, Serv Pneumoallergol, Algiers, AlgeriaLithuanian Soc Allergol & Clin Immunol, Vilnius, LithuaniaVilnius State Univ, Fac Med, Vilnius, LithuaniaUniv Liverpool, Fac Hlth & Life Sci, NHS R&D North West, Liverpool L69 3BX, Merseyside, EnglandNHS Scotland, European Innovat Partnership Act & Hlth Ageing, Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandUniv Modena & Reggio Emilia, Policlin Modena, Dept Oncol Haematol & Resp Dis, Modena, ItalyGlobal Allergy & Asthma Patient Platform, Vienna, AustriaEduc Hlth, Warwick, EnglandEuropean Rhinol Soc, Oporto, PortugalPorto Age Up Consortium, Oporto, PortugalUniv Porto, Sch Med, Hosp S Joao, Dept Hlth Informat & Decis Sci, P-4100 Oporto, PortugalUniv Porto, Sch Med, Hosp S Joao, CINTESIS, P-4100 Oporto, PortugalInst & Hosp CUF Porto, Oporto, PortugalUniv Nice Sophia Antipolis, F-06189 Nice, FranceRepatriat Gen Hosp, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaWakefield Council, Wakefield, W Yorkshire, EnglandAthens Chest Hosp, Resp Med Dept 7, Athens, GreeceAthens Chest Hosp, Asthma Ctr, Athens, GreeceEuropean Innovat Partnership Act & Hlth Ageing, Valencia, SpainUniv Valencia, Polibienestar Res Inst, Valencia, SpainNatl Ctr Dis Control & Publ Hlth Georgia, Tbilisi, Rep of GeorgiaUniv Chile, Dept Med, Immunol & Allergol Div, Clin Hosp, Santiago, ChileHelsinki Univ Hosp, Dept Allergy, Skin & Allergy Hosp, Helsinki, FinlandPubl Hlth Blackburn Darwen, Blackburn, Lancs, EnglandQueens Univ Belfast, Sch Med Dent & Biomed Sci, Ctr Infect & Immun, Belfast, Antrim, North IrelandUniv Hosp Leuven, Dept Otolaryngol Head & Neck Surg, Leuven, BelgiumPubl Hlth Kirklees, Huddersfield, W Yorkshire, EnglandUniv Plymouth, Sch Psychol, Plymouth PL4 8AA, Devon, EnglandUniv Salerno, Dept Med & Surg, I-84100 Salerno, ItalyIRCCS Multimed, Milan, ItalyUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, São Paulo, BrazilGeorge Inst Global Hlth, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaUniv Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaUniv London Imperial Coll Sci Technol & Med, Natl Heart & Lung Inst, Airway Dis Infect Sect, London, EnglandHallym Univ, Sacred Heart Hosp, Coll Med, Gyeonggi Do, South KoreaHacettepe Univ, Sch Med, Paediat Allergy & Asthma Unit, Ankara, TurkeyCharite, Inst Social Med Epidemiol & Hlth Econ, D-13353 Berlin, GermanyUniv Wurzburg, Inst Clin Epidemiol & Biometry, D-97070 Wurzburg, GermanyCzech Alliance Against Chron Resp Dis, CARO, Lodz, PolandMed Univ Lodz, Fac Med, Dept Immunol Rheumatol & Allergy, Lodz, PolandKarolinska Inst, Inst Environm Med, Dept Clin Sci & Educ, S-10401 Stockholm, SwedenMed Univ Lodz, Barlicki Univ Hosp, Dept Internal Med Asthma & Allergy, Lodz, PolandVilnius State Univ, Pulmonol & Allergol Ctr, Vilnius, LithuaniaUniv Med & Pharm, Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh, VietnamUniv Liege, CHU Liege, GIGA I3 Res Ctr, Liege, BelgiumUniv Edinburgh, Queens Med Res Inst, Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandScottish Govt, Dept Hlth, Directorate Finance eHlth & Pharmaceut, Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandUniv Bratislava, Bratislava, SlovakiaBon Secours Hosp, Royal Coll Surg Ireland, Sch Med, Dept Med, Dublin, IrelandKronikgune, Basque Region, SpainShahid Beheshti Univ Med Sci, Natl Res Inst TB & Lung Dis, Chron Resp Dis Res Ctr, Tehran, IranRoyal Brompton Hosp, London SW3 6LY, EnglandGeneva Sch Med, Geneva, SwitzerlandUniv Hosp Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandUniv Hosp Pulm Dis, Zagreb, CroatiaInst Pneumol Marius Nasta, Bucharest, RomaniaUniv Belgrade, Fac Med, Belgrade, SerbiaCOPD Serbia, Belgrade, SerbiaBordeaux Univ, Bordeaux, FranceParis Descartes Univ, Dept Publ Hlth & Biostat, EA 4064, Paris, FranceParis Municipal, Dept Social Act Childhood & Hlth, Paris, FranceHosp CUF Descobertas, Immunoallergy Dept, Lisbon, PortugalHop Polyclin Dakar IHS, Serv Med Interne & Pathol Profess, Dakar, SenegalMustapha Hosp, Algiers, AlgeriaHosp Hosp Bros Buda, Budapest, HungaryCharite, Allergy Ctr Charite, Berlin, GermanyCHUV Lausanne, Serv Pneumol, CH-1011 Lausanne, SwitzerlandAlfred Hosp, Dept Allergy Immunol & Resp Med, Melbourne, Vic, AustraliaMonash Univ, Melbourne, Vic 3004, AustraliaTokyo Natl Hosp, Natl Hosp Org, Tokyo, JapanTeikyo Univ, Sch Med, Tokyo 173, JapanUniv Hosp Pisa, Cardiothorac & Vasc Dept, Pisa, ItalyUniv York, Ctr Reviews & Disseminat, York YO10 5DD, N Yorkshire, EnglandUniv Athens, Paediat Clin 2, Dept Allergy, Athens, GreeceUniv Ferrara, I-44100 Ferrara, ItalyUniv Oxford, Oxford, EnglandUniv JJ Strossmayer, Sch Med, Childrens Hosp Srebrnjak, Osijek, CroatiaUniv Groningen, Univ Med Ctr Groningen, GRIAC Res Inst, Dept Pulmonol, Groningen, NetherlandsUniv Aberdeen, Acad Primary Care, Aberdeen, ScotlandUniv Kiel, LungenClin Grosshansdorf, Airway Res Ctr North, German Ctr Lung Res DZL, Kiel, GermanyUniv Valencia, Res Inst INCLIVA, CIBERObn, Hlth Inst Carlos III, Madrid, SpainUniv Nebraska Med Ctr, Div Pulm Crit Care Sleep & Allergy, Nebraska Med Ctr, Omaha, NE USASalford Royal NHS Fdn Trust, Salford, Lancs, EnglandINSERM, U710 & 988, Montpellier, FranceUniv Paris 05, Hop Cochin, AP HP, Paris, FranceSoc Pneumol Langue Francaise, SPLF, Paris, FranceArcispedale S Maria Nuova Hosp, Reggio Emilia, ItalyAssoc Asthme & Allergies, Boulogne, FranceWoodbrook Med Ctr, Loughborough, Leics, EnglandUniv Edinburgh, Allergy & Resp Res Grp, Ctr Populat Hlth Sci, Sch Med, Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandMed Univ Warsaw, Dept Prevent Environm Hazards & Allergol, Warsaw, PolandCtr Med Docente La Trinidad, Dept Allergy & Clin Immunol, Caracas, VenezuelaHarvard Univ, Brigham & Womens Hosp, Sch Med, Div Gen Internal Med & Primary Care, Boston, MA 02115 USAQueens Univ Belfast, Belfast, Antrim, North IrelandRoyal Belfast Hosp Sick Children, Belfast, Antrim, North IrelandUniv Hosp Heraklion, Dept Thorac Med, Iraklion, GreeceCatholic Univ Louvain, Univ Hosp Mt Godinne, Yvoir, BelgiumUniv Paris 06, Univ Paris 04, Neurophysiol Resp Expt & Clin UMR S 1158, Paris, FranceINSERM, Neurophysiol Resp Expt & Clin UMR S 1158, Paris, FranceGrp Hosp Pitie Salpetriere Charles Foix, AP HP, Serv Pneumol & Reanimat Med, Dept R3S, F-75634 Paris, FranceFonds Dotat Rech Sante Resp Fdn Souffle, Paris, FranceHlth Inst Technol Transfer, HITT, Barcelona, SpainEuroAsian Resp Soc, Bishkek, KyrgyzstanNatl Ctr Cardiol & Internal Med, Bishkek, KyrgyzstanUniv São Paulo, Fac Med, Div Pulm, InCor Heart Inst,Hosp Clin, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Oslo, Fac Med, Oslo Univ Hosp, Dept Neonatal Intens Care, Oslo, NorwayCoimbra Univ Hosp, Immunoallergy Dept, Coimbra, PortugalMed Univ Vienna, Ctr Pathophysiol Infectiol & Immunol, Dept Pathophysiol & Allergy Res, Vienna, AustriaUniv Turku, Dept Lung Dis & Clin Allergol, SF-20500 Turku, FinlandCHU Lyon, Pharmacoepidemiol Unit, Lyon, FranceCHU Lyon, Lyon, FranceUniv Lyon 1, UMR CNRS 5558, F-69365 Lyon, FranceUniv Manchester, Manchester Acad Hlth Sci Ctr, Resp & Allergy Res Grp, Manchester, Lancs, EnglandOdense Univ Hosp, Dept Resp Med J, DK-5000 Odense, DenmarkArcispedale S Maria Nuova IRCCS, EIP AHA Act Grp Delivering Integrated Care Models, Reg Agcy Hlth & Social Care, Res Hosp, Reggio Emilia, ItalyCNR, Inst Biomed, Palermo, ItalyCNR, Inst Mol Immunol, Palermo, ItalyClin Physiol IFC, Pisa, ItalyUniv Marburg, Univ Med Ctr Giessen & Marburg, Dept Med Pulm & Crit Care Med, German Ctr Lung Res DZL, D-35032 Marburg, GermanySotiria Hosp, Athens, GreeceCumbria Cty Council, Carlisle, PA USACHRU, Hop Albert Calmette, Lille, FranceUniv N Carolina, Eshelman Sch Pharm, Chapel Hill, NC USANorth England EU Hlth Partnership, Brussels, BelgiumOlmsted Med Ctr, Dept Res, Rochester, MN USAUniv Minnesota, Dept Family & Community Hlth, Rochester, MN USACyprus Univ Technol, Harvard Sch Publ Hlth, Cyprus Int Inst Environm & Publ Hlth, Limassol, CyprusAllergy & Asthma Inst, Islamabad, PakistanUniv Cape Town, Red Cross War Mem Childrens Hosp, Dept Paediat & Child Hlth, ZA-7925 Cape Town, South AfricaGuangzhou Med Univ, Guangzhou Inst Resp Dis, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Peoples R ChinaGuangzhou Med Univ, State Key Lab Resp Dis, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Peoples R ChinaUniv Clin Resp & Allerg Dis, Golnik, SloveniaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

AIRWAYS-ICPs (European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing) from concept to implementation

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that induce a significant burden. Asthma often occurs along the life cycle from early childhood, affecting 30 million children and adults under 45 years of age in Europe. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has an estimated annual death rate of over 3 million people globally. The annual direct and indirect costs in the 28 European Union (EU) countries due to COPD or asthma are estimated at 48 billion euros and 34 billion euros respectively. Rhinitis occurs in over 100 million people in Europe, and indirect costs are enormous [4]. Asthma is a common risk factor for COPD. CRDs impact ageing and should be prevented, recognised and managed across the life cycle to promote active and healthy ageing (AHA). There is an urgent need to act globally