RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A quantitative European study to investigate the impact of asthma triggers on the lives of asthma patients
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP p4947
VO 38
IS Suppl 55
A1 Peter Dale
A1 Emma Elder
A1 Gillian Newbold
A1 Nicola Vyas
A1 Sian O'Regan
A1 Kenneth R. Chapman
A1 David Price
YR 2011
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p4947.abstract
AB Background: There is frequent reference to asthma triggers in the patient education literature but little is known of patients' experiences with triggers and their impact on and relationship to asthma control.Methods: We used patient diaries and an online study to quantify the impact of asthma triggers in patients from five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK). 1202 asthma patients completed the study; 177 also completed an online diary every other day for 3 weeks.Results: People with asthma expressed concern about the long term impact of triggers – only 1% believed that triggers would not affect their asthma. All triggers were perceived as having an impact on asthma symptoms (at least 6.1 for all triggers on a 10 point scale). Perceived impact increased with the increasing number of triggers identified by each patient. 80% of respondents claimed to have modified their behaviour due to exposure to triggers at least once in the last 4 weeks. Patients reporting a high number of triggers experienced more day and night-time symptoms, a greater number of severe attacks, had a lower Asthma Control Test (ACT) score, were more likely to be hospitalised and to miss days at work/school. People with asthma experiencing 16 or more triggers missed on average 12.2 days compared with 2.9 days for those reporting 1–5 triggers. Of those patients with a high number of triggers, just 3% had never adapted behaviour to manage their asthma.Conclusion: Asthma triggers can have an important impact on the lives of asthma patients. The impact increases with the number of triggers experienced and results in significant behavioural changes.Funded by GSK