Asthma in general practice. Opportunities for recognition and management.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of asthma-related symptoms and asthma among patients attending general practitioners.


METHODS
Sydney.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey by written questionnaire.


METHODS
1933 patients of 21 general practitioners.


RESULTS
1. Wheeze and asthma were common in patients attending general practitioners; 19 per cent of patients reported recent wheeze, 9 per cent reported recent asthma. 2. Less than half of all patients with recent wheeze (47%) reported having asthma. 3. Recent wheeze without asthma was more common in boys (4.8%) than girls (0%) and more common in men (10%) than women (7%). 4. Although most patients reporting asthma (95%) had had their asthma treated by a doctor, three-quarters of those patients had experienced asthma related symptoms in the previous year.


CONCLUSIONS
Asthma remains under-recognised and under-treated among patients attending general practitioners.
Tse
M
M
Department of General Practice, University of Sydney.
Cooper
C
C
Bridges-Webb
C
C
Bauman
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires