Abstract
Asthma control is suboptimal among World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR) enrollees. Air pollution/irritants have been reported as the most prevalent trigger among World Trade Center responders. We examined the relationship between air pollution/irritants and asthma control. We also evaluated the association of asthma control with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We included 6202 enrollees age ≥18 with a history of asthma who completed the WTCHR asthma survey between 2015 and 2016. Based on modified National Asthma Education and Prevention Program criteria, asthma was categorized as controlled, poorly-controlled, or very poorly-controlled. HRQoL indicators include ≥14 unhealthy days, ≥14 activity limitation days, and self-rated general health. We used multinomial logistic regression for asthma control, and unconditional logistic regression for HRQoL, adjusting for covariates. Overall, 27.1% had poorly-controlled and 32.2% had very poorly-controlled asthma. Air pollution/irritants were associated with poorly-controlled (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.45–1.99) and very poorly-controlled asthma (AOR = 2.15; 95% CI = 1.83–2.53). Poor asthma control in turn worsened the HRQoL of asthmatic patients. Very poorly-controlled asthma was significantly associated with ≥14 unhealthy days (AOR = 3.60; 95% CI = 3.02–4.30), ≥14 activity limitation days (AOR = 4.37; 95% CI = 3.48–5.50), and poor/fair general health status (AOR = 4.92; 95% CI = 4.11–5.89). Minimizing World Trade Center (WTC) asthmatic patients’ exposure to air pollution/irritants may improve their disease management and overall well-being.
Highlights
The prevalence of asthma has increased in the last decade and placed a significant economic burden on the United States and globally
Poor asthma control in turn worsened the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of asthmatic patients
Consistent with other studies in various populations [7,8], our study found that air pollution/irritants were the most prevalent asthma trigger, and poor asthma control worsened the HRQoL of asthmatic patients
Summary
The prevalence of asthma has increased in the last decade and placed a significant economic burden on the United States and globally. Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the airways, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchial hyper-responsiveness, with symptoms including wheezing, coughing, tightness of the chest, shortness of breath, and sleep awakening. These symptoms can greatly affect daily activities and quality of life. In the United States, asthma was responsible for $3 billion in losses due to missed work and school days, $29 billion due to asthma-related mortality, and $50.3 billion in medical costs during 2008–2013 [1]. Part of the difficulty in asthma medical management is explicitly
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
