title: The relationship of asthma impairment determined by psychometric tools to future asthma exacerbations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impairment and risk are considered separate domains of asthma control, but relationships between them are not completely understood. We compared three validated questionnaires reflecting asthma impairment in their ability to predict future exacerbations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two thousand six hundred eighty patients with persistent asthma completed a survey that included the Asthma Control Test (ACT), mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (mAQLQ), and Asthma Impact Survey (AIS-6), as well as a history of exacerbations in the prior 12 months. An exploratory factor analysis was performed using the questions of the three tools, and individual patient factor scores were calculated. Independent relationships between predictors (tools and factors) and exacerbations the following year captured from administrative data were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Each tool was significantly related (P < .0001) to future exacerbations above and beyond the risk conferred by prior exacerbations (relative risk [RR] = 1.3). When prior exacerbations were included in the model, the three impairment tools provided similar and overlapping information, such that only the mAQLQ entered the model (RR = 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5). Factor analysis revealed three factors (symptoms, activity, and bother) that were each significantly associated (P < .0001) with future asthma exacerbations. However, only the activity factor was independently related to future exacerbations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asthma impairment is significantly related to the risk of future exacerbations, but the ACT, mAQLQ, and AIS-6 do not provide independent information from each other in this regard. Interference with activities is the primary subjective component of asthma impairment that is related to the risk of future exacerbations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Diego and Los Angeles, CA. Electronic address: michael.x.schatz@kp.org.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schatz
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Diego and Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Zeiger
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Diego and Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Su-Jau
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Diego and Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Wansu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Diego and Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health Outcomes, Merck & Co, Inc, West Point, PA.
authors.forename: Shiva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sajjan
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health Outcomes, Merck & Co, Inc, West Point, PA.
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Allen-Ramey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult