title: Association of the asthma control questionnaire with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is a common chronic disease in childhood which features bronchial hyperresponsiveness to exercise (EIB). In daily clinical practice, the report of EIB is used to assess the level of control of asthma. The asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) is a tool to evaluate the control of asthma in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the ACQ and EIB.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred children, aged 12.5 ± 2.5 years, with a pediatrician-diagnosed mild-to-moderate asthma filled out an ACQ and performed an exercise provocation test in cold air. EIB was defined as a fall in FEV(1) of 15%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty six of the 200 children had a positive exercise challenge. There was no relationship between the categorical ACQ and the occurrence of EIB (p = .39). There was no difference in the occurrence of EIB between genders (p = .12). The positive predictive value of the ACQ for EIB was 51% and the negative predictive value for EIB was 59%. In comparison to the girls, the boys carried an odds ratio (OR) of 0.48 for having an indifferent control of asthma (p = .04; confidence interval (CI): 0.23-0.96), and an OR of 0.46 for having a not well-controlled asthma (p = .03; CI: 0.23-0.93).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that the ACQ is not related to EIB in children with asthma. Remarkable is the percentage (41%) of children who, despite well-controlled asthma according to the ACQ, had EIB, which implies that their asthma is not well-controlled. Boys were more likely to report well-controlled asthma, although boys and girls were equally likely to have EIB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands. jeandriessen@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Andjenie A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Madhuban
authors.forename: Jean M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Driessen
authors.forename: Marjolein G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Brusse-Keizer
authors.forename: Wim M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: van Aalderen
authors.forename: Frans H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: de Jongh
authors.forename: Boony J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Thio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D001250:Asthma, Exercise-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents