Table 3.
Comparison of VAS Preferences for Asthma Health States by Country
| State |
Italy Mean (SD) N = 30 |
France Mean (SD) N = 30 |
UK Mean (SD) N = 30 |
US Mean(SD) N = 161 |
Overall F Value |
Paired Group Comparisons |
| Corner Statesa | ||||||
| Severe cough | 0.289 (0.245) | 0.216 (0.167) | 0.246 (0.224) | 0.263 (0.254) | 0.5 | |
| Severe wheeze | 0.212 (0.211) | 0.193 (0.130) | 0.225 (0.185) | 0.239 (0.255) | 0.4 | |
| Severe dyspnea | 0.125 (0.138) | 0.149 (0.116) | 0.227 (0.226) | 0.158 (0.212) | 1.5 | |
| Severe awaken at night | 0.252 (0.190) | 0.115 (0.143) | 0.269 (0.267) | 0.255 (0.246) | 3.3* | 5* |
| Severe medication side effects | 0.439 (0.243) | 0.171 (0.199) | 0.345 (0.295) | 0.253 (0.256) | 7.0*** | 1*** 3** |
| Multi-attribute Statesb | ||||||
| Moderate cough and dyspnea | 0.584 (0.218) | 0.488 (0.199) | 0.660 (0.215) | 0.309 (0.250) | 27.1*** | 3*** 4* 5** 6*** |
| Moderate cough and wheeze | 0.443 (0.230) | 0.307 (0.159) | 0.438 (0.223) | 0.219 (0.201) | 17.4*** | 3*** 6*** |
| Severe cough; moderate wheeze and dyspnea | 0.296 (0.185) | 0.181 (0.118) | 0.355 (0.180) | 0.172 (0.176) | 12.5*** | 3** 4** 6*** |
| Severe cough; moderate wheeze, and awake at night | 0.345 (0.200) | 0.251 (0.196) | 0.395 (0.195) | 0.196 (0.201) | 11.4*** | 3** 6*** |
| Severe cough, dyspnea, and awaken at night; moderate wheeze and side effects | 0.112 (0.122) | 0.072 (0.068) | 0.193 (0.139) | 0.075 (0.115) | 9.4*** | 4** 6*** |
Pairwise comparisons between means were performed using Scheffe's test of multiple comparisons.
1 = Italy vs. France, 2 = Italy vs. UK, 3 = Italy vs. US, 4 = France vs. UK, 5 = France vs. US, 6 = UK vs. US.
***<.001, ** <.01, *<.05.
a For corner states, one symptom is described as severe and frequent while other remaining symptoms reflect no problem.
b The multi-attribute states vary symptom severity as listed, with other remaining symptoms reflecting mild severity. Frequency remains constant for each symptom within each health state.