Assessment of a medication-based asthma index for population research
| Autor: | Kenneth R. Chapman, Maria T. Santos, Wendy J. Ungar |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2002 |
| Předmět: |
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Adult Male medicine.medical_specialty Emergency Medical Services Adolescent Population research Population Test validity Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine Severity of Illness Index Proxy (climate) Health care medicine Humans Anti-Asthmatic Agents education Child Asthma education.field_of_study business.industry Respiratory disease Reproducibility of Results Middle Aged Patient Acceptance of Health Care medicine.disease Respiratory Function Tests Hospitalization El Niño Family medicine Child Preschool Population Surveillance Physical therapy Female business Medication Systems |
| Zdroj: | American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine. 165(2) |
| ISSN: | 1073-449X |
| Popis: | Asthma management guidelines recommend the use of preventive medications in sufficient amounts to control asthma symptoms. The validity of a medication use index as a proxy for asthma severity has not been established. We recruited 1,279 Ontario adults with asthma or parents of children with asthma from a community-based surveillance program in 1995-96. Participants completed a telephone questionnaire at baseline, 3 and 6 mo. The questionnaire gathered information about asthma medication use, health care utilization, and symptoms. Asthma was classified as mild in 28%, moderate in 49%, or severe in 23% of patients based on the amount and types of medication used. There were significant differences among groups in health resource use such that adults with higher medication use visited primary care physicians and specialists more frequently, had pulmonary functions tests more frequently, and were admitted to hospital more frequently. The findings among children were similar. There were weak positive correlations between medication use and symptom frequency in adults and children. We conclude that a medication use index may be useful in population-based research where clinical asthma severity data are lacking. Such an index is distinct from but is related to disease control. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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