title: Quality of Life and Economic Burden of Respiratory Disease in Asia-Pacific-Asia-Pacific Burden of Respiratory Diseases Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Asia-Pacific Burden of Respiratory Diseases is a cross-sectional, observational study examining the burden of disease in adults with respiratory diseases across six countries. The aim of this study was to describe health care resource use (HCRU), work impairment, cost burden, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) associated with respiratory disease in the Asia-Pacific.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive participants aged 18 years or older with a primary diagnosis of asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or rhinosinusitis were enrolled. Participants completed a survey detailing respiratory symptoms, HCRU, work productivity and activity impairment, and HRQOL. Locally sourced unit costs for each country were used in the calculation of total costs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study enrolled 5250 patients. Overall, the mean annual cost for patients with a respiratory disease was US $4191 (SGD 8489) per patient. For patients who reported impairment at work, the mean annual cost was US $7315 (SGD 10,244), with productivity loss being the highest cost component for all four diseases (US $6310 [SGD 9100]). On average, patients were impaired for one-third of their time at work and 5% of their work time missed because of respiratory disease, which resulted in a 36% reduction in productivity. Patients with a primary diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had the greatest impact on HRQOL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the Asia-Pacific, respiratory diseases have a significant impact on HCRU and associated costs, along with work productivity. Timely and effective management of these diseases has the potential to reduce disease burden and health care costs and improve work productivity and HRQOL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: De Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Allergy Asthma Bronchitis Institute, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Aloke Gopal
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ghoshal
authors.affiliation: Institute of Respiratory Medicine, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Abdul Razak
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bin Abdul Muttalif
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Horng-Chyuan
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors.forename: Sanguansak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thanaviratananich
authors.affiliation: Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Shalini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bagga
authors.affiliation: Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Rab
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Faruqi
authors.affiliation: Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Shiva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sajjan
authors.affiliation: Optum, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Alan J M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Brnabic
authors.affiliation: Optum, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Francis C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Dehle
authors.affiliation: Division of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: shcho@plaza.snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sang-Heon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001208:Asia; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy
keywords: COPD; allergic rhinitis; asthma; cost of illness; health care costs; quality of life; respiratory disorders; rhinosinusitis