The results of a large pan-European study, conducted by Mundipharma International in collaboration with experts in asthma patients show that the presence of symptoms associated with poor asthma control, and unaware that your asthma can be controlled better.   The results also suggest that the experiences of patients and their attitudes toward their disease vary, and that understanding these attitudes could be the key to improving asthma control and outcomes.

The data presented in Sweden in Group Scientific Congress International Primary Care Respiratory Care (IPCGR).

The study REALISE ( Re know the A sma and LI garlo the S íntomas and E xperiences), made ??8,000 people aged between 18 and 50 years in 11 countries,  confirmed that poor asthma control is still a big problem in Europe, something that experts are aware for a long time.  The study found that in the previous week, 53% of participants who had a good sense of control, were awakened by asthma in 1 or more occasions, 56% had symptoms that interfered with normal activities within one or more occasions, and 42% used their inhaler 3 or more times.  The data also distinguished subgroups of patients could be characterized by their attitudes and behaviour with regard to asthma.

"The evidence tells us that by recognizing the characteristics of patients, health professionals can help to control your condition more effectively. If we face seriously improved asthma control, we need to look beyond the treat symptoms, recognize that asthma experiences with people and their attitudes toward the disease vary, and focus on identifying the different types of patients, to get better results, "says Professor Thys van der Molen, University of Groninger, Netherlands.

The REALISE study identified that people with asthma can be generally grouped into four profiles of mind, depending on how they deal with their illness: the group "coherent", the "overconfident", the "efforts" and the group "to the drift "and everyone experiences some level of poor control of the disease,  as defined by GINA.

Patients in group "consistent" are aware of their asthma, follow the instructions in the healthcare and are quite compliant in taking prescribed therapy. Feel safe in the management of their disease and are interested in the advice of your doctor to control it better. This is the group most willing to listen to your doctor's instructions about when and how often must use their inhaler (91%) and are less likely to feel uncomfortable when using your inhaler in front of others (15%). Of this group, 72% are "partially controlled" or "out of control" as defined by GINA.

The group "overconfident" has a tendency to ignore their symptoms of asthma, in order to feel normal. Occasionally ignore the instructions of health care and are less interested in finding information about asthma for themselves. They are a group that mostly feel very confident in managing their disease and are the least concerned are through (4%). The 63% of patients are "partially controlled" or "out of control" as defined by GINA.

The group "of the brave" is the one with the greatest desire to better control their asthma, while only 10% felt safe to do so themselves. Experiencing asthma as an important part of their lives, therefore care about the impact it will have on your health in the future (83%). [ 5 ] are more likely to consider their asthma as something serious (58%), adhering to the therapy prescribed by your healthcare professional (60%). The 95% of patients in this group are "partially controlled" or "out of control" as defined by GINA.

The fourth group, known as "drifting", people with asthma are very likely to seek information about their disease proactively and have a strong desire to control their diabetes. However, are those who are more likely to ignore the advice of health care professional about when and how often should take the prescribed therapy (45%). They tend to believe that being part of an online community can make a difference in how to control their asthma (59%).  93% of the patients in this group are "partially controlled" or "out of control" as defined in the GINA.

These attitudes so different in patients suggest that the way a patient perceives his asthma could have a role in the way we handle your state and, consequently, may influence the support and treatment they need. This is a first step in exploring what role patient profiles in real life clinical practice.

"The support from Mundipharma for the study REALISE shows our commitment and investment in research in the respiratory area, and contribute to the development of better strategies for the treatment of asthma and ultimately help reduce personal and social burdens of this debilitating disease, "says Professor Karen Reimer, Mundipharma Research Director. "Mundipharma is intended to work with a holistic approach in the treatment of asthma, combining pharmacological interventions with patient education."

The REALISE study found that people with asthma can be generally grouped into four types of attitude towards the disease, each of which have different attitudes.

Mundipharma is committed to supporting research that contributes to the development of better strategies for the treatment of asthma in order to reduce social and personal burdens of this disease.

As part of its commitment, Mundipharma subsidized REALISE study was designed to assess attitudes against asthma patients and their health in general, the incidence of asthma control and symptoms, the impact of the disease on daily life patients, the ratio of patients with health professionals in the management of asthma, and sources of information about asthma.

The REALISE study, led by Mundipharma International in collaboration with European experts in asthma, was conducted online as 8,000 people with asthma in 11 countries, including Austria , Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Participants were between 18 and 50 years, were diagnosed with asthma by a physician and had received at least two prescriptions for asthma treatment over the past two years. In addition, all participants had to be active in social networks and they could not have participated in other market research in the last three months. The initial results of the study were published on World Asthma Day in 2013.

The group Mundipharma independent associated companies consists of a number of privately owned companies and joint ventures with presence in the global pharmaceutical market.