Asthma Insight & Management
AIM Reveals the Serious Impact of Asthma
Adults with asthma surveyed have a significant physical burden of disease, which produces lower self-health ratings, greater activity limitations, and more sick days and days with limited activities compared with adults without asthma. Also, more adult asthma patients also report they often or sometimes feel fearful, isolated, depressed, angry, and embarrassed than adults without asthma surveyed.
In the past year,
- 11 percent
of asthma patients surveyed had sudden severe episodes of coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath daily or on most days - 13 percent had sudden severe episodes once or at least twice a week
- 15 percent had them once or at least twice a month
Further,
- One in five
asthma patients in the AIM survey “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that they live in fear of emergency room visits or hospitalizations due to asthma - 29 percent of survey respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that fear of exacerbations prevents them from doing the things they want to
And asthma can have an impact on patients’ quality of life:
- Six out of 10
adults and adolescents with very poorly controlled asthma surveyed say that their asthma interferes “some” or “a lot” with their lives - Two out of five patients whose asthma would be classified as not well controlled say that their asthma interferes “some” or “a lot” with their lives
- By contrast, only one out of 10 patients with well controlled asthma surveyed say their asthma interferes “some” or “a lot” with their lives
Despite the physical and emotional burden of asthma, the majority of current asthma patients surveyed believe their asthma is well managed. More than 70 percent
of patients surveyed believe that their asthma is either completely or well controlled.
Doctors AIM to Help Patients Prevent Symptoms and Minimize Asthma Impact
Patient perceptions about what constitutes well managed asthma reveals a serious communication gap about asthma management that could undermine optimal asthma treatment. The majority of asthma patients in the AIM survey agree that they could consider asthma well managed if:
- They only have 2 urgent doctor visits
per year (67 percent) - Their asthma bothers them less than half the time when they exercise (64 percent)
- They have two months or longer between exacerbations (64 percent)
- They have asthma exacerbations only three or four times a year (63 percent)
- They have only one emergency room visit for asthma per year (61 percent)
Physicians generally tend to have higher standards than patients for what is considered well managed asthma, but many physicians endorse many of the same criteria as patients regarding asthma management. For example:
- A majority of family practitioners (60 percent) and internists (66 percent) surveyed agree that asthma is well managed if the patient only has two urgent doctor visits for asthma per year.
- Nearly half of pulmonologists (48 percent) and one-third of allergists (33 percent) also agree that only two urgent doctor visits for asthma per year would constitute well managed asthma.
- Only a minority of family practitioners (42 percent), internists (42 percent) and allergists (20 percent) feel that asthma is well managed if there is only one emergency room visit for asthma per year.
The gap between patient and physician perceptions of well managed asthma is less distinct in the area of asthma exacerbations. Almost half of family practitioners (49 percent) and 40 percent of internists, as well as a minority of pulmonologists (19 percent) and allergists (21 percent), feel that asthma is well managed if the patient only has exacerbations three or four times a year.
