Correlates of quality of life in patients with asthma

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a major outcome in asthma, but the relationships among HRQOL, characteristics of asthma, type of supervision, and sociodemographic characteristics of patients have not been thoroughly explored.

To identify major correlates of HRQOL in a survey of patients with asthma.

Patients with asthma were identified by their usual caregivers, either general practitioners or respiratory physicians. In a standardized interview, data were collected on patients' sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, medical resource use in the past 12 months, and asthma QOL. Intensity of asthma therapy was evaluated from the use of inhaled controllers and oral corticosteroids in the past 12 months, and number of asthma attacks during the same period was used as an indicator of level of asthma symptoms.

Ninety-nine patients with asthma were identified (median age, 36 years; 62.6% women). In multivariate analysis, major correlates for lower HRQOL scores were having at least 5 asthma attacks and the number of medical visits in the past 12 months (P < .001 for both). Other significant positive associations were unemployment (P = .01) and female sex (P = .05), but not intensity of therapy, age, or type of asthma supervision (general practitioner vs respiratory physician).

In this survey, HRQOL scores seem to be primarily related to asthma symptoms, as indicated by the number of attacks experienced by the patients and the frequency of medical contacts in a previous period. The relationships among HRQOL, therapy, and the determinants of control should be investigated in prospective studies.