Asthma Uncontrolled in More Than 40 Percent of Adults With the Disease, New Landmark...

Asthma Uncontrolled in More Than 40 Percent of Adults With the Disease, New
Landmark Survey Shows
Results from Phase One of Two-Phase Examination of U.S. Asthma Control

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and TORONTO, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Nearly half of adult Americans with asthma and more than a quarter of children
with asthma who responded to a nationally representative survey do not have
their disease well controlled, according to the Asthma USA survey, which was
presented today at the International Conference of the American Thoracic
Society meeting in Toronto.
The survey found that not well controlled asthma had significant medical
consequences. Adults with uncontrolled asthma were more likely to require
treatment with oral corticosteroids, visit the emergency department or be
admitted to the hospital than those whose asthma was well controlled. Children
with uncontrolled asthma were also more likely to require urgent medical care.
Past research has shown that uncontrolled asthma can put patients at risk for
increased asthma symptoms, sudden asthma attacks, hospitalizations and even
death.
"We have made quantum leaps in asthma treatment in the last decade, but
the Asthma USA results demonstrate that enormous numbers of patients are
living with asthma that is still not well controlled, putting them at
significant health risk," said David Stempel, MD, director of clinical
medicine for GlaxoSmithKline. "These findings remind us that improvements in
care have not been uniform and underscore the critical need to improve
education for both patients and healthcare providers in the management of
asthma."
According to the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for the
Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, signs of poor asthma control include
waking at night with asthma symptoms, trips to the hospital and the need for
quick-relief medication such as albuterol more than twice a week for asthma
symptoms.
The survey examined responses from more than 81,500 households, with
asthma control assessed with the Asthma Control Test(TM) (ACT), a validated
assessment questionnaire recommended by national treatment guidelines for
determining a patient's level of asthma control. Of the more than 10,000
adults with self-reported asthma taking the ACT, 41 percent had a score of 19
or less, which indicates not well controlled asthma.
The survey also examined scores from the Childhood Asthma Control Test and
ACT to determine the level of asthma control in more than 3,000 children
respondents* between the ages of 4 and 17 and found that asthma control in
children is also deficient. According to the findings, 31 percent of children
with asthma between the ages of 4 and 11 and 25 percent of those between 12
and 17 did not have well-controlled asthma.
About the Asthma USA Survey
The Asthma USA study was conducted by GlaxoSmithKline in cooperation with
National Family Opinion Survey Group and designed to evaluate uncontrolled
asthma and assess demographic variables associated with asthma risk in the
general population of the United States.
This was a cross sectional mailed survey administered to a representative
national sample of 134,401 households recruited from a consumer panel of
households managed by NFO/TNS in May, June and July 2007, a time when
asthma-related medical complications traditionally see a seasonal decline.
Surveys were returned for 60.6 percent of households, including information on
10,139 adults with a self-reported physician diagnosis of asthma completing
the Asthma Control Test. Data for 38,323 children aged 4 to 17 was returned
with a total of 1,991 children 4 to 11 years with asthma and 1,265 adolescents
12-17 years with asthma included in the survey.
The data presented at the ATS meeting represents the first phase of the
study which is the baseline data. A subset of the initial population will be
followed on a quarterly basis to generate longitudinal data on asthma control,
missed work and school, medication use and seasonal variation in asthma
control.
About Asthma
Asthma is a chronic lung disease. Research has established that the two
main components of asthma are inflammation (swelling and excess mucus build-up
in the airways) and bronchoconstriction (tightening of the muscles surrounding
the airways). Treating both components is necessary for many patients to
achieve optimal asthma control.
Asthma symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, or
cough. Other signs of asthma can include a persistent cough at night;
difficulty breathing during, or soon after, physical exertion or exercise; or
waking up at night because of one or more of these symptoms. Asthma is
unpredictable. Asthma symptoms may seem mild or even nonexistent, but they can
flare up and be severe at any time.
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading research-based
pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. GlaxoSmithKline is committed to
improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better
and live longer. For company information visit http://www.gsk.com.
*The Childhood Asthma Control Test is for children 4 to 11 years of age to
complete with their parents or guardians.
The Asthma Control Test is a trademark of QualityMetric Incorporated.
SOURCE GlaxoSmithKline

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