Effect of COVID on asthma – AIHW
Extract from AIHW Chronic respiratory conditions report:
COVID‑19 impact on chronic respiratory conditions
The COVID‑19 pandemic had substantial impacts on hospital activity generally. The range of social, economic, business and travel restrictions, including restrictions on, or suspension of, some hospital services, and associated measures in other healthcare services to support physical distancing in Australia, resulted in an overall decrease in hospital activity between 2019–20 and 2020–21. As a result, the hospitalisation rates for asthma and COPD in these years were the lowest recorded in the last 10 years (AIHW 2022a).
For more information on how the pandemic has affected the population’s health in the context of longer-term trends, see ‘Changes in the health of Australians during the COVID‑19 period’ in Australia’s health 2022: data insights.
Emergency department presentations for asthma and COPD were also affected by the pandemic, decreasing from March (when the national lockdown started) to May 2020 (from 26 to 11 and 39 to 28 presentations per 100,000 population, respectively).
In June 2020, emergency department presentations increased again as restrictions began to ease across the country (to 19 presentations per 100,000 population for asthma and to 33 presentations per 100,000 population for COPD) (Figure 9).
During the COVID‑19 pandemic (as at 31 October 2022), chronic respiratory conditions were certified as a pre-existing condition in 18% of the deaths with a chronic condition mentioned, the third highest of all chronic conditions (ABS 2022)
Death rates due to all respiratory diseases combined also showed a substantial fall in 2020, with rates particularly low for females and during the winter months compared with previous years, though rates have increased since (Figure 10).
While the long-term impact of COVID‑19 on the respiratory system is still being assessed, evidence shows that COVID‑19 does not directly impact the risk of increasing asthma severity and vice versa (Lee et al. 2020; Lieberman-Cribbin et al. 2020; Mather et al. 2021). However, there is increasing evidence showing that COPD patients with COVID‑19 have greater risk of mortality, severity of infection and higher likelihood of requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) support than those without COPD (Cazzola et al. 2021; Clark et al. 2021; Wells 2021).
For more information, see ‘The impact of a new disease: COVID‑19 from 2020, 2021 and into 2022’ in Australia’s health 2022: data insights.