Asthma — master index¶
Last curated: 2026-08-30 · status: audited
The condition in five sentences. Asthma is a heterogeneous inflammatory airway disease defined by variable respiratory symptoms and variable expiratory airflow limitation, ideally demonstrated objectively rather than inferred from symptoms alone (Rothe 2018, PMID 29614508). GBD 2021 estimated 260 million prevalent cases and 436,000 asthma deaths, with burden distributed unequally across regions (GBD 2021 Asthma Collaborators 2025, PMID 40147466). Type-2 inflammation drives many but not all cases, supporting eosinophils, FeNO and allergic phenotype as imperfect treatment guides rather than universal disease markers (Fahy 2015, PMID 25534623). ICS-containing therapy is the safety anchor; as-needed low-dose budesonide–formoterol reduces severe exacerbations compared with SABA-only treatment in mild asthma, and biologics now target IgE, IL-5/5R, IL-4Rα and TSLP in severe disease (O'Byrne 2018, PMID 29768149; Beasley 2019, PMID 31112386; Edris 2019, PMID 31395084; Menzies-Gow 2021, PMID 33979488). The frontier is true prevention/remission, non-type-2 therapy and access, while recurrent systemic-steroid exposure remains a marker of uncontrolled disease and cumulative harm (Price 2018, PMID 30214247).
Start here: overview.md. Frontier: OPEN-QUESTIONS.md. Growth history: LOG.md.
Audited corpus: 18 curated wiki pages · 401 unique PubMed records · 19 cited ClinicalTrials.gov records · 6 landmark notes · 24 open questions.
Reading paths¶
| Need | Suggested path |
|---|---|
| Clinical orientation | overview → diagnosis → mild/moderate care → safety |
| Severe or uncontrolled disease | phenotypes/endotypes → biomarkers → severe asthma/biologics → trials |
| Mechanism and prevention | airway biology → genetics/environment/prevention → research frontier |
| Life-course and implementation | children → pregnancy → self-management → patient experience |
Pages¶
| File | Scope | Status |
|---|---|---|
| overview.md | Variable airflow disease, burden, endotypes and treatment map | curated |
| diagnosis-and-objective-testing.md | Spirometry, reversibility, challenge tests, variability and mimics | curated |
| epidemiology-and-global-burden.md | Prevalence, mortality, access, sex/age and trends | curated |
| airway-immunobiology-and-remodeling.md | Epithelium, type-2 and non-type-2 inflammation, smooth muscle | curated |
| genetics-environment-and-prevention.md | GWAS, viral, allergen, pollution, occupation and early-life risks | curated |
| phenotypes-endotypes-and-treatable-traits.md | Allergic, eosinophilic, obesity, late-onset and non-type-2 asthma | curated |
| mild-and-moderate-asthma.md | ICS-formoterol, maintenance, adherence and step changes | curated |
| severe-asthma-and-biologics.md | Confirmation, adherence, comorbidity and targeted therapy | curated |
| exacerbations-and-acute-care.md | Severity, oxygen, bronchodilators, steroids, ICU and discharge | curated |
| inhaler-technique-adherence-and-self-management.md | Devices, action plans, education and digital support | curated |
| asthma-in-children.md | Preschool wheeze, school-age diagnosis, growth and trajectories | curated |
| pregnancy-and-reproductive-health.md | Control, medication safety and maternal/fetal outcomes | curated |
| comorbidity-and-mimics.md | Rhinitis, obesity, reflux, inducible laryngeal obstruction and COPD | curated |
| guidelines.md | GINA and national recommendations and disagreements | curated |
| biomarkers.md | Eosinophils, FeNO, IgE, periostin and composite predictors | curated |
| clinical-trials-landscape.md | Biologics, upstream targets, devices and prevention trials | curated |
| patient-experience-and-advocacy.md | Attack fear, school/work, inhaler stigma, cost and organizations | curated |
| red-flags-and-safety-concerns.md | Silent chest, exhaustion, hypoxemia, SABA overuse and steroid harm | curated |
Literature layer¶
| Artifact | Contents |
|---|---|
| BIBLIOGRAPHY.md | 401 unique live-verified PubMed records, with wiki-page provenance |
| Landmark notes | Six structured notes: diagnostic reverification, START, CAMP, SYGMA 1, DREAM and NAVIGATOR |
| Guideline registry | Current international and national guidance, disagreements, dates and supersession checks |
| Statistics register | Burden, diagnostic, treatment, safety and implementation estimates with denominators and caveats |
| Patient voice | Verified organizations, ethical source register and ≥2-source thematic synthesis |
Curation state¶
This condition is audited (2026-08-30): all 18 wiki pages passed an independent claim-to-citation audit and are curated; 401 unique PubMed records and 19 ClinicalTrials.gov records were re-verified live; six landmark notes and the guideline, statistics and patient-voice layers were also audited. The research frontier is maintained in OPEN-QUESTIONS.md.