Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To identify the types, frequency and impact of asthma triggers and the relationship to asthma control among adults with asthma in Europe.
METHODS: Adults with self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma receiving maintenance asthma treatment and self-reported exposure to known asthma triggers completed an online questionnaire; a subset completed a diary over 3-4 weeks. Information on asthma control (Asthma Control Test™ [ACT]), asthma triggers, frequency of exposure and behaviours in response or to avoid asthma triggers and the perceived impact on daily life was captured. A post-hoc analysis evaluated the impact of high trigger burden on the frequency of severe asthma exacerbations, hospitalisations and days lost at work/study.
RESULTS: A total of 1202 adults participated and 177 completed the diary. Asthma was uncontrolled for the majority (76%) of participants and most (52%) reported exposure to 6-15 asthma triggers. As trigger burden increased, behavioural changes to manage trigger exposure had a significantly increased impact on daily life (p < 0.0001) and job choice (p = 0.002). Participants reporting a high trigger burden (>16) were more likely to report uncontrolled asthma than those with a low trigger burden (1-5). Participants with a high trigger burden had previously experienced on average two more severe asthma attacks during a lifetime (p < 0.001), two more hospitalisations (p < 0.001) and 3.5 more missed days at work or study in the last year due to their asthma (p < 0.001) than those with a low trigger burden.
CONCLUSIONS: Adults with asthma reporting a high trigger burden (>16 different triggers) experience more severe asthma attacks than those reporting lower trigger burdens.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 127-135 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Asthma |
Volume | 51 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2014 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Air Pollution
- Asthma
- Dust
- Europe
- Exercise
- Female
- Humans
- Life Style
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Quality of Life
- Respiratory Tract Infections
- Risk Reduction Behavior
- Self Report
- Severity of Illness Index
- Young Adult
- Asthma Control
- Asthma Trigger
- Behaviour
- Exacerbation
- Hospitalisation
- Questionnaire
- Trigger Burden