Are patients with asthma and COPD preferred targets of COVID-19?

The coronavirus pandemic, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is an infectious respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus first identified in patients from Wuhan, China. Since December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 spread swiftly around world and infected more than 25 million people and caused more than 800,000 deaths in 188 countries. Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD appear to be a risk factor for COVID-19; however, their prevalence remains controversial. In fact, studies in China reported lower rates of chronic respiratory conditions in patients with COVID-19 than in the general population, while the trend is reversed in the United States and Europe. Although the underlying molecular mechanisms of a possible interaction between COVID-19 and chronic respiratory diseases remain unknown, some observations can help to resolve them. Indeed, physiological changes, immune response, or medication used against SARS-CoV-2 may have greater impact on patients with chronic respiratory conditions, already debilitated by chronic inflammation, dyspnea, and the use of immunosuppressant drugs like corticosteroids. In this review, we discuss the importance and the impact of COVID-19 on asthmatics and COPD patients, the possible available treatments, and patient management during the pandemic.