Figures
- FIGURE 1.
Asthma control index. An asthma control index was computed by country as the ratio of at least well-controlled to not well-controlled treated asthma sufferers. An index of >1 equates to a greater proportion of at least well-controlled and an index of <1 equates to a greater proportion of not well-controlled.
- FIGURE 2.
Work productivity and activity impairment by control status. Work productivity impairment considers both absent (time missed from work) and present (impairment while working) results. ░: not well-controlled asthma; ▒: at least well-controlled asthma. Statistical comparisons were computed using the Chi-squared test. ***: p<0.001.
- FIGURE 3.
Short-form (SF)-12 mean scores by control status. PCS: physical component score; MCS: mental component score. ░: not well-controlled asthma; ▒: at least well-controlled asthma. Statistical comparisons were computed using the unpaired t-test. ***: p<0.001.
Tables
- Table. 1—
Prevalence of asthma control for diagnosed and treated asthma in 2008
All countries France Germany Italy Spain UK Diagnosed asthma# 15.15¶ (6) 2.86 (6) 3.71 (5) 2.13¶ (4) 1.61 (5) 4.84 (10) Not well-controlled 7.89 (52) 1.17 (41) 2.30 (62) 1.35 (63) 0.75 (47) 2.33 (48) At least well-controlled 7.25 (48) 1.70 (59) 1.41 (38) 0.77 (36) 0.86 (53) 2.51 (52) Treated asthma# 11.87 (78) 1.98 (69) 2.97 (80) 1.47 (69) 1.11 (69) 4.32 (89) Not well-controlled 6.72 (57) 1.00 (51) 2.00 (67) 0.98 (67) 0.53 (47) 2.21 (51) At least well-controlled 5.15 (43) 0.98 (49) 0.97 (33) 0.49 (33) 0.59 (53) 2.11 (49) Data are presented as prevalence millions (% total population) and prevalence millions (% of diagnosed asthma) for diagnosed asthma and treated asthma, respectively. #: extrapolated to EU population in millions; ¶: sum of not well-controlled and at least well-controlled greater than total due to rounding.
- Table. 2—
Proportion of patients with individual components of the Asthma Control Test™
Diagnosed asthma p-value Not well-controlled# At least well-controlled¶ Impact of asthma on work, school and home activities in past 4 weeks <0.001 All of the time 3.4 0.1 Most of the time 10.1 0.0 Some of the time 27.3 1.4 A little of the time 33.7 18.7 None of the time 25.4 79.8 Frequency of shortness of breath in past 4 weeks <0.001 At least once a day 48.1 1.7 3–6 times per week 24.4 3.7 Once or twice per week 25.6 47.5 None 1.9 47.1 Night-time awakenings due to asthma in past 4 weeks <0.001 ≥4 nights per week 17.0 0 2–3 nights per week 26.4 1.3 Once a week 16.9 3.3 Once or twice per week 39.8 95.4 Frequency of rescue medication use <0.001 ≥3 times per day 14.8 0.6 Once or twice per day 38.0 7.1 2–3 times per week 24.6 8.2 None or once a week 22.6 84.1 Self-rated asthma control in past 4 weeks <0.001 Not at all controlled 11.6 4.0 Poorly controlled 10.7 1.0 Somewhat controlled 35.0 4.7 Well-controlled 37.3 36.6 Completely controlled 5.3 53.6 Data are presented as % of patients, unless otherwise stated. #: n = 1,827; ¶: n = 1,792. Statistical comparisons were computed using the Chi-squared test.
- Table. 3—
Demographics and health characteristics of subjects with asthma by control status
Diagnosed asthma p-value Not well-controlled At least well-controlled Subjects n 1827 1792 Female 62.5 53.3 <0.001 Age yrs 47.31±15.6 42.85±15.7 <0.001 Age range yrs 18–34 26.6 37.2 35–54 38.9 38.0 >55 34.6 24.8 Employment status Employed 49.8 63.4 <0.001 Unemployed 50.2 36.6 <0.001 Retired 22.8 16.5 On disability 6.3 2.7 Overweight# 33.6 35.6 <0.001 Obese¶ 30.4 23.3 <0.001 Current/ex-smoker 70.3 58.7 Experienced the following in past 12 months Depression 31 18 <0.001 Anxiety 40 28 <0.001 Sleep difficulties 42 35 <0.001 Number of times spoken with doctor in last 12 months 3.15±3.7 1.48±1.9 <0.001 Asthma treatment Controller medication 64.7 46.2 <0.001 Rescue medication 55.1 48.4 <0.001 MMAS among those treated for a symptomatic condition 0 (highly adherent) 36.4 35.4 ns 1 22.1 24.5 ns 2 17.4 16.8 ns 3 13.9 16.1 ns 4 (highly nonadherent) 10.1 7.3 0.016 Data are presented as % or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. MMAS: Morisky Medication Adherence Scale; ns: nonsignificant. #: body mass index ≥25 kg·m−2 and <30 kg·m−2; ¶: body mass index ≥30 kg·m−2. Statistical comparisons were computed using the Chi-squared test for percentages and unpaired t-tests for means.
- Table. 4—
Healthcare attitudes of respondents with asthma by control status
Agree/strongly agree with statement Diagnosed asthma p-value Not well-controlled# At least well-controlled¶ Unless there is a good reason to change my medication, I think it is best to continue taking my medication as I currently do 72.0 68.0 0.032 I prefer brand name medications to generic ones 21.1 14.8 <0.001 Whenever I don't feel well, I should consult a medically trained professional 41.7 45.8 0.04 If I get sick, it is my own behaviour which determines how soon I get well again 47.5 53.7 0.002 My doctor knows about all the over-the-counter products that I use 48.0 42.7 0.009 I am afraid of needles 27.0 21.2 <0.001 All prescription medications have side-effects 43.3 34.8 <0.001 I would prefer if my medications were combined into fewer pills 44.5 37.8 <0.001 I try to take a multivitamin each day to improve or maintain my health 27.0 21.3 <0.001 Having regular contact with my physician is the best way for me to avoid illness 29.9 19.9 <0.001 I try to take my medication at the same time every day 65.2 59.7 0.005 Data are presented as %, unless otherwise stated. #: n = 1,827; ¶: n = 1,792. Statistical comparisons were computed using the Chi-squared test.
- Table. 5—
Health resource use in previous 6 months
Healthcare resource use Diagnosed asthma p-value Not well-controlled At least well-controlled Subjects n 1827 1792 Visited traditional medical provider 94.6 89.6 <0.001 Traditional medical provider visits 9.92±10.8 6.78±6.78 <0.001 Visited general/family practitioner 80.8 75.8 0.0038 Visited internist 9.6 5.2 <0.001 Visited allergist 15.6 9.6 <0.001 Visited pulmonologist 11.4 5.7 <0.001 Visited ER 24.5 15.9 <0.001 ER visits 0.6±2.4 0.2±0.7 <0.001 Hospitalised 17.4 9.9 <0.001 Times hospitalised 0.4±2.8 0.2±0.6 <0.001 Data are presented as % or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. ER: emergency room. Statistical comparisons were computed using the Chi-squared test for percentages and unpaired t-tests for means.
