Age at asthma onset and asthma self-management education among adults in the United States

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Maria Mirabelli, Emory University; Suzanne Beavers, Emory University; Samantha H. Shepler, Emory University; Arjun B. Chatterjee, Wake Forest School of Medicine
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-10-21
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2015 Taylor & Francis.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02770903.2015.1020389
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Asthma
• Volume: 52
• Issue: 9
• Start Page: 974
• End Page: 980
• Keywords: Behavior; Young Adult; Aged; Socioeconomic Factors; Patient Care Planning; Infant, Newborn; Adolescent; prevention; Child, Preschool; Male; health; United States; Smoking; surveillance; Humans; Female; Infant; Self Care; Patient Education as Topic; Age of Onset; Adult; respiratory; Middle Aged; epidemiology; Aged, 80 and over; Asthma; Child
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare; Economics, General

Abstract

Objective: Asthma self-management education improves asthma-related outcomes. We conducted this analysis to evaluate variation in the percentages of adults with active asthma reporting components of asthma self-management education by age at asthma onset. Methods: Data from 2011 to 2012 Asthma Call-back Surveys were used to estimate percentages of adults with active asthma reporting six components of asthma self-management education. Components of asthma self-management education include having been taught to what to do during an asthma attack and receiving an asthma action plan. Differences in the percentages of adults reporting each component and the average number of components reported across categories of age at asthma onset were estimated using linear regression, adjusted for age, education, race/ethnicity, sex, smoking status, and years since asthma onset. Results: Overall, an estimated 76.4% of adults with active asthma were taught what to do during an asthma attack and 28.7% reported receiving an asthma action plan. Percentages reporting each asthma self-management education component declined with increasing age at asthma onset. Compared with the referent group of adults whose asthma onset occurred at 5-14 years of age, the percentage of adults reporting being taught what to do during an asthma attack was 10% lower among those whose asthma onset occurred at 65-93 years of age (95% CI: -18.0, -2.5) and the average number of components reported decreased monotonically across categories of age at asthma onset of 35 years and older. Conclusions: Among adults with active asthma, reports of asthma self-management education decline with increasing age at asthma onset.