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Questionnaire helps assess QOL in senior citizens with asthma

The Mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire seemed to effectively assess quality of life in adults aged 65 years and older with asthma, according to study results.

The questionnaire — in connection with other tools — may be used to assess responses to medical treatments and other interventions for asthma in older adults, according to the researchers.

Tolly Epstein

“Little is known regarding the impact of asthma on quality of life in older adults, despite the growing prevalence of the disease in this population,” study researcher Tolly Epstein, MD, assistant professor of immunology at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, told Healio.com/Allergy. “This study shows that the [Mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (mAQLQ)] can be used to assess quality of life in older asthmatics, and that findings correlate well with other validated measures of asthma control.”

Epstein and colleagues used data from participants in the Cincinnati Asthma Severity in Older Adults study to assess predictors of asthma-related quality of life (QOL) in older adults.

The analysis included 164 adults aged 65 years and older who completed the mAQLQ during a phone interview with a physician.

Participants underwent a physical exam and completed the 6-item Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) as well as the Asthma Control Test (ACT).

Total mAQLQ (mean SD = 5.4) and symptom, emotional, and activity domain scores appeared similar to those of younger populations.

Low mAQLQ scores significantly correlated with ED visits and with poor scores on the ACQ (P < .0001 for both).

Other indicators of poor mAQLQ scores included asthma onset before age 40 years (P < .004) and mean daily elemental carbon attributable to traffic (P < .02).

“The impact of traffic pollution on poor quality of life in this population should be further examined, and clinicians should consider this when evaluating older asthmatics that are refractory to standard treatments,” Epstein told Healio.com/Allergy. – by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.