Asthma affects more than 4 million French people1 and kills nearly 1,000 people a year in France2 including a teenager every 3 to 4 weeks3. Among asthmatics, 65,000 suffer from severe refractory asthma4. Severe asthma is the most severe level (out of 5 levels of asthma severity), uncontrolled and persistent despite maximum management5. It leads to a physical disability on a daily basis. 90% of severe asthmatics have already been hampered in their physical activity between asthma attacks, and 59% declare that they avoid any situation requiring physical effort. These patients compare their experience of the disease to the daily ascent of a mountain like Everest6. This severe asthma often interferes with family, social and work life, limits career choices and vacation options, and affects emotional and mental health. Severe asthma patients often feel alone and misunderstood because their experience is very different from that of most asthmatics.
“Severe asthma is a real burden”
It is to raise awareness of the lives of people with severe asthma that Sanofi Genzyme has launched a campaign illustrating their difficult daily lives. Six visuals present seemingly innocuous life situations such as climbing stairs, shopping, playing a sport or even walking, but which represent an ordeal for those suffering from severe asthma. In addition to raising awareness of this serious and little-known form of asthma, this national campaign also intends to inform severe asthmatics about the importance of proper treatment compliance, the central role of the pulmonologist and the necessary multidisciplinary support by psychologists. or psychiatrists, nurses, dieticians, physiotherapists and/or social workers, in addition to treatment. But also on the development of new treatments which open up new perspectives for patients with severe asthma.
This campaign, co-signed by the Association of Severe Asthmatics (ADAS) and the Gregory Pariente Foundation (GPF) has been relayed since the summer of 2020 via the press, social networks, doctors’ waiting rooms and others. digital channels such as Konbini and Loopsider.
Find the #AsthmeSevere campaign on social networks, and discover the website: www.asthma-severe.fr
On the occasion of the Top Health Awards, we award a Public Favorite Award. Want to vote for the Severe Asthma Campaign? It’s this way !
Sources:
1: https://www.santepubliquefrance.fr/ Maladies-et-traumatismes/ Maladies-et-infections-respiratoires/asthma
2: Raherison C et al. Rev Mal Respi. 2016 Apr;33(4):279-325 – Coquin Y. Rev Mal Respi. 2005 Apr;22(2):13 5
3: Gregory Pariente Foundation – https://gpfd.fr/
4: Haute Autorité de Santé, January 2018 https://www.has-sante.fr/jcms/c_2823952/fr/severe-asthma-quels-treatments-proposer-et-dans-quels-cas
5: GINA 2020 – Global Initiative for Asthma. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and prevention 2020. Available at: www.ginasthma.org
6: Ifop study for Sanofi Genzyme (2020) “The French, asthmatics and severe asthma”
Article produced in partnership with Sanofi Genzyme.
7000035637 – 10/2021
