While most people know that wheezing is a sign of asthma, far fewer realize that trouble sleeping or a persistent cough may also be symptoms of the airway disease, a new survey shows.
Those findings may help explain why many adults don't realize they have the disease and don't seek treatment, the researchers said. But, one in every 200 U.S. adults is diagnosed every year with asthma, a condition called adult-onset asthma, the researchers said.
Adults tend to have a lower forced expiratory volume (the volume of air you are able to take in and forcibly exhale in one second) after middle age because of changes in muscles and stiffening of chest walls. This decreased lung function may cause doctors to miss the diagnosis of adult-onset asthma.
"A lot of people have asthma and don't know it. Many adults do not have the traditional asthma symptoms, or they don't have all of the symptoms," said Dr. David Beuther. He is a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health in Denver, a hospital that specializes in respiratory diseases.
The hospital commissioned the national survey. It included more than 1,000 people who were aged 18 and older. They were asked about the symptoms of asthma.
Many knew the common signs of asthma, such as shortness of breath (89 percent) and wheezing (85 percent), the survey found.
But, when it came to more unusual symptoms, fewer people knew there was a connection between...
...these problems and possible asthma. Just 65 percent knew that a persistent cough could be a sign of asthma. And only about half knew that chest pain and trouble sleeping could also be symptoms of asthma, the survey revealed.
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When a doctor makes a diagnosis of asthma in people older than age 20, it is known as adult-onset asthma.
Among those who may be more likely to get adult-onset asthma are:
- Women who are having hormonal changes, such as those who are pregnant or who are experiencing menopause
- Women who take estrogen following menopause for 10 years or longer
- People who have just had certain viruses or illnesses, such as a cold or flu
- People with allergies, especially to cats
- People who have GERD, a type of chronic heartburn with reflux
- People who are exposed to environmental irritants, such as tobacco smoke, mold, dust, feather beds, or perfume
"It's not rare that your asthma doesn't present like the textbook. It's actually more common than most people realize. To the patient or perhaps the primary care provider, things that seem like a very unusual set of symptoms for asthma are actually quite common. That is why you often need a specialist to diagnose and treat it," Beuther said in a hospital news release.
