title: Level of asthma control and health care utilization in Asia-Pacific countries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Data on the impact of asthma in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region is limited. This study investigated whether partly- and uncontrolled asthma were associated with increased medication use/healthcare utilization and productivity loss among a population of asthma patients from nine Asia-Pacific countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used cross-sectional data from 3630 asthma patients ≥12 years from the 2011 Asia-Pacific Asthma Insights and Management (AP-AIM) survey. Using Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines, patients were categorized as having well-controlled, partly- controlled, or uncontrolled asthma. Chi-square tests were used to assess the relation of degree of asthma control with utilization of asthma medications, health services, productivity, and mood.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 7.6% of the patients surveyed had asthma that was well-controlled, with the highest proportions in Singapore (14%) and the lowest in India (0%) and China (2%). Patients whose asthma was not well-controlled reported greater use of asthma medications, more emergency healthcare visits or hospitalizations for their asthma, and more interference of their mood due to asthma. They also reported significant decreases in productivity due to asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients who did not have well-controlled asthma had greater utilization rates of asthma medications and healthcare services and were more likely to report missing multiple days of work/school compared to patients whose asthma was well-controlled. These associations suggest that emphasis on improving asthma control could have dramatic effects on patient well-being and utilization of healthcare resources.
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: goldl@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Laura S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.affiliation: Lung Institute of Western Australia and Centre for Asthma, Allergy, and Respiratory Research, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Chest Research Foundation, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Sundeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salvi
authors.affiliation: Global Medical Affairs, Merck & Co., Inc, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Rab A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Faruqi
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Sean D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004526:Efficiency; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents
keywords: Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines; Healthcare utilization; Long term maintenance medications; Oral steroids; Productivity