"Rapid Increase in Domestic Severe Asthma Prevalence... Urgent Need to Improve Treatment Environment"

Korean Asthma Allergy Association Meeting
High Side Effects of Oral Steroid Dependence
"Need for Reimbursement of Latest Biologics"

As the prevalence and mortality rates of severe asthma in South Korea increase, there are calls for urgent improvements in the treatment environment. Despite the availability of effective treatments, most are non-reimbursable, placing a heavy burden on patients and preventing them from receiving appropriate care.

Professor Kim Taebeom of the Department of Allergy at Asan Medical Center in Seoul is presenting on the status of severe asthma.
[Photo by Korea Asthma Allergy Association]

On the 27th, Professor Kim Tae-beom of the Department of Allergy at Seoul Asan Medical Center stated at a press conference titled "Speaking of Severe Asthma, the Suffocating Pain," hosted by the Korean Asthma Allergy Association, “According to statistics analyzed through the National Health Insurance Sharing Service (NHISS), the prevalence of asthma increased from 1.62% in 2006 to 4.74% in 2015,” adding, “The asthma-related mortality rate also increased by approximately 2.9 times in 2015 compared to 2003.”

Severe asthma refers to cases where asthma remains uncontrolled despite proper use of most treatments, including high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators. One in ten asthma patients experiences severe breathing difficulties requiring emergency room visits and repeated hospitalizations. It is a disease that significantly lowers quality of life by making it difficult to sleep properly and interfering with daily activities.

Patients with severe asthma inevitably use oral corticosteroids. Although 40-50% of severe asthma patients take oral steroids, the problem lies in their severe side effects. Professor Kwon Hyuk-soo of the Department of Allergy at Seoul Asan Medical Center explained, “There are tremendous side effects such as depression, insomnia, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, glaucoma, and cataracts,” adding, “Patients with severe asthma already suffer from the pain of not being able to breathe, and they must bear various burdens, including increased medical costs due to complications from oral steroids.”

Research results also show that compared to general asthma, severe asthma patients have about three times more outpatient visits and twice as many hospital admissions annually. Even excluding the recently spotlighted biologic agents, medical expenses for severe patients are about 9 to 10 times higher. As of 2019, the estimated social cost of asthma was approximately 13.5 trillion KRW, with severe asthma accounting for 30% of this.

A panel discussion on severe asthma is underway.
[Photo by Korea Asthma Allergy Association]

Biologic agents have no steroid side effects and are effective in 80-90% of severe asthma patients. The problem is the cost. Professor Kim said, “They must be administered at least once a month, costing about 2 million KRW per month,” criticizing, “While many advanced countries provide insurance coverage, South Korea does not cover these treatments at all.” Park Jung-won, chairman of the Korean Society of Internal Medicine and professor of allergy at Severance Hospital, who participated as the panel discussion chair, also stated, “Both the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and domestic clinical guidelines recommend using biologic agents tailored to asthma phenotypes,” adding, “In South Korea, only omalizumab, which is limited to allergic asthma?a subset of asthma phenotypes?is covered by insurance, restricting treatment options.”

The academic community urged health authorities to ensure treatment rights for severe asthma patients. Ji Young-gu, chairman of the Korean Academy of Asthma Allergy and professor of respiratory allergy at Dankook University Hospital, said, “The hospitalization rate due to asthma in South Korea is about twice the OECD average, and the age-standardized mortality rate from asthma is about 3 to 4 times higher than in the United States or Japan, confirming that the domestic asthma treatment environment is very poor,” emphasizing, “Since improving the treatment environment for severe asthma in South Korea is urgent, we hope that rapid insurance coverage discussions will take place, fully considering patients’ disease burden and the cost-effectiveness of biologic agents.”

This press conference was held by the Korean Asthma Allergy Association in observance of 'World Asthma Day.' World Asthma Day, established by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to raise awareness about asthma, is designated as the first Tuesday of May each year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.