Premium
Level of asthma control and healthcare utilization in Latin America
Author(s) -
Gold L. S.,
Montealegre F.,
AllenRamey F. C.,
Jardim J.,
Smith N.,
Sansores R.,
Sullivan S. D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1111/all.12237
Subject(s) - asthma , latin americans , medicine , health care , family medicine , environmental health , political science , economic growth , immunology , economics , law
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether uncontrolled asthma was associated with healthcare outcomes among Latin American patients with asthma. We used data from 2168 patients with asthma who participated in the 2011 Latin America Asthma Insights and Management ( AIM ) survey. Using Global Initiative for Asthma ( GINA ) guidelines, patients were categorized as having asthma that was well‐controlled, partly controlled, or uncontrolled. Overall, 7% of the patients surveyed had asthma that was classified as well‐controlled. Patients whose asthma was not well‐controlled were significantly more likely to report use of asthma medications ( OR s ranging from 1.6–41) and to have had emergency healthcare visits or hospitalizations for their asthma in the previous year ( OR s ranging from 2.1 to 5.9). They also reported decreases in their productivity compared to patients with well‐controlled asthma. These associations suggest that emphasis on improving asthma control could have substantial effects on patient productivity and utilization of healthcare resources.