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Quality of life in adults with asthma treated in allergy and pneumology subspecialties: relationship with sociodemographic, clinical and psychological variables

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Abstract

Purpose

Prior studies suggest that specialist care associates with improved health-related quality of life (HRQL) in asthmatic patients. However, there are limited studies focused on differences in HRQL among subspecialties. The aim of this study was to assess the differences in HRQL between adult asthmatic patients treated in pneumology or allergy practices, and to estimate to what extent the differences in HRQL can be explained by sociodemographic, clinical or psychological characteristics of patients from each specialty.

Methods

We recruited adult asthmatic outpatients from allergy and pneumology practices. Information on sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics was collected, and HRQL was assessed with generic and disease-specific questionnaires. HRQL was compared between groups adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics.

Results

A total of 287 asthmatic patients participated in the study (105 from pneumology and 182 from allergy). Patients treated by pneumologists reported significantly poorer HRQL in physical dimensions of generic questionnaire and all dimensions of disease-specific questionnaire. Pneumology patients were older (p < .001) and had a lower education level (p < .001); a higher number of patients were in a non-active employment situation (p = .003) and had worse pulmonary function (p < .001), longer duration of disease (p = .020), higher prevalence of obesity (p < .001) and uncontrolled asthma (p < .001), and a higher rate of previous absenteeism (p = .001). Depression and the use of cognitive avoidance coping were also higher among pneumology patients (p = .050 and p = .022, respectively). There were not significant differences in HRQL between pneumology and allergy patients after adjustment for these sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics.

Conclusions

Asthmatic patients treated by pneumologists reported poorer HRQL than patients treated by allergists, but this outcome is attributed to differences in several sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics between the two groups of patients.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. José Manuel García Pazos, Dr. Pedro Marcos Velázquez, Dr. Carlos García de la Cuesta, Dra. María Genoveva Álvarez Eire and Dra. Susana Varela for their support in register the clinic data of the patients. We also thank the support or nursery staff of allergy and pneumology services.

Funding

This study was funded by María Barbeito Programme of the Consellería de Innovación e Industria de la Xunta de Galicia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Private Psychological Practice Beatriz González Freire. Psicóloga, Ourense, Spain

    Beatriz González-Freire

  2. Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Beatriz González-Freire & Isabel Vázquez

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  1. Beatriz González-Freire
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  2. Isabel Vázquez
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Correspondence to Isabel Vázquez.

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González-Freire, B., Vázquez, I. Quality of life in adults with asthma treated in allergy and pneumology subspecialties: relationship with sociodemographic, clinical and psychological variables. Qual Life Res 26, 635–645 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1486-0

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