Association of asthma self-efficacy to asthma control and quality of life.
BACKGROUND
Achieving optimal asthma control relies upon several behavioral factors (self-monitoring, treatment adherence) that may be influenced by asthma self-efficacy (ASE).


OBJECTIVE
To assess the extent to which levels of ASE are associated with asthma control and asthma-related quality of life in patients with asthma.


METHODS
A total of 557 adult patients with documented asthma completed a battery of questionnaires (Asthma Self-Efficacy Scale, ASES; Asthma Control Questionnaire, ACQ; Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, AQLQ) and standard spirometry. Patients also underwent a sociodemographic, medical history, and psychiatric interview. Partial correlations adjusting for covariates were conducted to assess associations between ASES scores and ACQ and AQLQ scores.


RESULTS
Results indicated that ASES scores were negatively correlated with ACQ total score and individual items scores, indicating that higher levels of ASE were associated with improved asthma control, and positively correlated with AQLQ total and subscale scores, indicating that higher levels of ASE were associated with better asthma-related quality of life. All findings were independent of covariates.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that being confident in one's ability to control asthma symptoms is associated with better asthma control and quality of life. Future studies should assess the direction of the association between self-efficacy and asthma morbidity in order to determine optimal treatment targets.
Lavoie
Kim L
KL
Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, Division of Chest Medicine, Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (a University of Montreal affiliated hospital), 5400 Gouin West, Montréal, Quebec, Canada, H4J 1C5. k-lavoie@crhsc.rtss.qc.ca
Bouchard
Anne
A
Joseph
Maryann
M
Campbell
Tavis S
TS
Favreau
Helene
H
Bacon
Simon L
SL
D000328:Adult; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012646:Self Administration; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012647:Self-Assessment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents