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Evaluation of a new asthma questionnaire.
M J Abramson1, M J Hensley, N A Saunders
1Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Newcastle, Australia.
Summary
The International Union Against Tuberculosis (IUAT) questionnaire effectively identifies bronchial symptoms and asthma in workers. This validated tool shows high accuracy against bronchial reactivity measures.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Respiratory Medicine
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Aluminum smelter workers are susceptible to respiratory issues.
- Assessing bronchial symptoms and lung function is crucial for this population.
- Existing questionnaires may have limitations in capturing specific symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the validity of the new International Union Against Tuberculosis (IUAT) bronchial symptoms questionnaire.
- To assess the questionnaire's ability to capture specific respiratory symptoms in aluminum smelter workers.
- To compare the IUAT questionnaire with a modified Medical Research Council (MRC) questionnaire and bronchial reactivity measurements.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 827 aluminum smelter workers.
- Administration of the IUAT bronchial symptoms questionnaire and a modified MRC questionnaire.
- Measurement of bronchial reactivity (BR) in 809 subjects using methacholine challenge.
Main Results:
- Factor analysis confirmed sensible clustering of unique IUAT questionnaire items.
- Responses from the IUAT questionnaire showed good agreement with the MRC questionnaire for asthma-related symptoms.
- IUAT questionnaire items demonstrated high validity against concurrently measured bronchial reactivity.
Conclusions:
- The IUAT bronchial symptoms questionnaire is a valid tool for assessing asthma.
- The questionnaire effectively captures various respiratory symptoms, including dyspnea and chest tightness.
- Findings support the use of the IUAT questionnaire in occupational health studies of respiratory symptoms.