Change in exacerbation rate of asthma patients before and after COVID-19 infection.

Publication date: Jul 10, 2025

COVID-19 had significant impact on healthcare utilization and disease outcomes worldwide. While overall asthma exacerbations reportedly declined during the pandemic, the specific effect of COVID-19 infection on subsequent exacerbation patterns in asthma patients remains unclear. Using a nationwide health insurance claims database from South Korea, we identified patients who had both asthma and a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in 2020. We defined the pre-COVID-19 period as the 12 months immediately preceding the date of each patient’s COVID-19 diagnosis, and the post-COVID-19 period as the 12 months following that date. Baseline characteristics, annual exacerbation rates, and direct medical costs were compared between these two time frames. Among 82,825 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 2,965 patients with asthma met the inclusion criteria. Compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, the proportion of patients experiencing moderate and moderate-to-severe exacerbations decreased, whereas severe exacerbations increased after COVID-19 infection. In a binomial mixed model, moderate and moderate-to-severe exacerbations declined significantly (IRR=0. 848, p

Semantics

Original Article