title: Efficacy of using the Japanese  version of the asthma control  test for determing the level of  asthma control in clinical settings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Asthma Control Test (ACT) is frequently used for the evaluation of asthma control in clinical care setting because it does not require the use of pulmonary function tests, which can be difficult for general practitioners to use. However, few large-scale studies have investigated the efficacy of the Japanese version ACT (J-ACT) in actual use during clinical care.
  
  
  METHODS
  The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of the J-ACT in a clinical care setting. Using data from a 2008 questionnaire survey including the J-ACT by the Niigata Asthma Treatment Study Group, we compared the ACT scores of 2233 patients with respect to multiple parameters, including the severity by Japanese Society of Allergology and the attack frequency. Using the definition of asthma control partially referred to Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines from the survey data, the accuracy screening and determination of optimal ACT cutpoints were performed by retrospective analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cronbach's α for the J-ACT was 0.785. Patients with more severe asthma and more frequent asthma attacks had lower ACT scores than did patients with less severe, less frequent attacks. The optimal ACT cutpoints were 24 for the controlled asthma and 20 for the uncontrolled asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study, the first large-scale investigation of the efficacy of the J-ACT, determined that this evaluation tool is highly efficacious in establishing the level of asthma control. However, the determination of accurate cutpoints for the J-ACT will require more clear definitions of asthma control in future prospective studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Japan. htaka@med.niigata−u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koya
authors.forename: Takuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakagami
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kagamu
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Katsuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Fumitoshi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yoshimine
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arakawa
authors.forename: Fumitake
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gejyo
authors.forename: Ichiei
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Narita
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires