Subtypes of asthma based on asthma control and severity: a latent class analysis

Respiratory Research

Research

Maritta S. Jaakkola¹  Elina M. S. Mäkikyrö¹  Jouni J. K. Jaakkola¹ 

[1] Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH), University of Oulu, PO Box 5000, FI-90014, Oulu, Finland;Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu, Finland;

关键词: Asthma;    Epidemiologic study;    Latent class analysis;    Asthma subtypes;    Asthma control;    Asthma severity;    Determinant;    Risk factor;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12931-017-0508-y

 received in 2016-11-22, accepted in 2017-01-13,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAsthma subtyping is a complex new field of study. Usually both etiological and outcome factors of asthma have been used simultaneously for subtyping thus making the interpretation of the results difficult. Identification of subtypes of asthma based on questionnaire data only will be useful for both treatment of asthma and for research. Our objective was to identify asthma subtypes that capture both asthma control and severity based on easily accessible variables.MethodsWe applied latent class analysis for the 1995 adult asthmatics, 692 men and 1303 women, of the Northern Finnish Asthma Study (NoFAS). The classifying variables included use of asthma medication within the last 12 months, St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire score, and asthma-related healthcare use within the last 12 months. Covariates adjusted for included COPD, allergic rhinitis/allergic eczema, BMI, age and sex. All information was based on self-administered questionnaires.ResultsWe identified four subtypes for women: Controlled, mild asthma (41% of participants); Partly controlled, moderate asthma (24%); Uncontrolled asthma, unknown severity (26%), and Uncontrolled, severe asthma (9%). For men we identified three subtypes: Controlled, mild asthma (31%); Poorly controlled asthma, unknown severity (53%); and Partly controlled, severe asthma (17%). For almost 96% of the subjects this subtyping was accurate. The covariates fitted in the model were based on clinical judgment and were good predictors of class membership.ConclusionsOur results show that it is possible to form meaningful and accurate asthma subtypes based on questionnaire data, and that separate classification should be applied for men and women.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017