The correlation between asthma control and health status: the GOAL study

¹ University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
² Hôpital Arnaud de Villeneuve, Montpellier, France
³ GlaxoSmithKline R&D, Greenford, UK
⁴ University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, WI, USA
⁵ Imperial College, London, UK
⁶ University of Southern Denmark, Kolding Hospital, Kolding, Denmark
⁷ List of investigators supplied separately

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ebateman{at}uctgsh1.uct.ac.za.

	Abstract

This study examined the association between guideline-derived asthma control and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), assessed using the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ), in patients with uncontrolled asthma whose treatment was directed towards achieving the highest possible level of control.

This randomised, double-blind, parallel-group study compared the efficacy of fluticasone propionate (FP) and salmeterol/fluticasone (SFC) in achieving two composite, guideline-derived measures of control Total Control (TC) and Well-Controlled (WC) asthma. Not achieving these levels was classed as Not-Well Controlled (NWC). Doses were stepped up until patients achieved TC or reached maximum dose. This dose was maintained for the remainder of the study. AQLQ was assessed at baseline and each clinic visit.

AQLQ scores improved throughout the study, reaching near maximal levels in patients achieving TC and WC, and 52 week mean scores in the three control groups were statistically significantly different (p<0.001). Clinically meaningful improvements (mean change from baseline) were: TC group (SFC 1.9, FP 1.8), WC (SFC 1.5, FP 1.5) and NWC (SFC 1.0, FP 0.9).

Treatment aimed at controlling asthma improves HRQoL to levels approaching normal. The difference in AQLQ scores in TC and WC confirms that patients distinguish between even these high levels of control.

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