Table 3.
Subgroup Analysis According to GINA Therapeutic Steps (Statistically Significant Differences)
| GINA therapeutic step, mean (SD) or n (%) | p-value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 & 4 | Step 5 | Probable ACO/COPD | Probable exacerbation | ||
| Subjects | 128 (33.0) | 49 (12.6) | 86 (22.2) | 41 (10.6) | 54 (13.9) | 16 (4.1) | |
| Age (years) | 48 (16.2) | 47.8 (17.8) | 53.3 (20.4) | 55.7 (17.7) | 59.6 (14.1) | 47.7 (16.2) | 000 |
| Sex | |||||||
| Female | 78 (60.9) | 27 (55.1) | 38 (44.7) | 8 (19.5) | 36 (67.9) | 5 (31.2) | 000 |
| Male | 50 (39.1) | 22 (44.9) | 47 (55.3) | 33 (80.5) | 17 (32.1) | 11 (68.8) | |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Education level (Portuguese education system)a | |||||||
| No education | 5 (4.1) | 1 (2.0) | 5 (6.1) | 1 (2.6) | 4 (8.5) | 1 (6.3) | 007 |
| 1st cycle (Basic Ed.) | 16 (13.1) | 11 (22.4) | 22 (26.8) | 13 (33.3) | 24 (51.1) | 3 (18.8) | |
| 2nd cycle (Basic Ed.) | 11 (9.0) | 2 (4.1) | 4 (4.9) | 4 (10.3) | 2 (4.3) | 1 (6.2) | |
| 3rd cycle (Basic Ed.) | 18 (14.8) | 5 (10.2) | 10 (12.2) | 4 (10.3) | 3 (6.4) | 3 (18.8) | |
| Secondary education | 41 (33.6) | 10 (20.4) | 22 (26.8) | 7 (17.9) | 9 (19.1) | 6 (37.5) | |
| Higher education | 31 (25.4) | 20 (40.8) | 19 (23.2) | 10 (25.6) | 5 (10.6) | 2 (12.5) | |
| Missing | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Employment status | |||||||
| Employed | 79 (64.8) | 27 (56.3) | 37 (45.1) | 20 (48.8) | 19 (36.5) | 9 (60.0) | 004 |
| Unemployed | 12 (9.8) | 6 (12.5) | 7 (8.5) | 5 (12.2) | 4 (7.7) | 1 (6.7) | |
| Retired | 24 (19.7) | 12 (25.0) | 32 (39.0) | 15 (36.6) | 28 (53.8) | 2 (13.3) | |
| Other | 7 (5.7) | 3 (6.3) | 6 (7.3) | 1 (2.4) | 1 (1.9) | 3 (20.0) | |
| Missing | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Maximum number of SABA uses in a 24-hour period | |||||||
| ≤ 4 uses | 82 (81.2) | 32 (69.6) | 56 (81.2) | 21 (63.6) | 32 (78.0) | 5 (41.7) | 027 |
| > 4 uses | 19 (18.8) | 14 (30.4) | 13 (18.8) | 12 (36.4) | 9 (22.0) | 7 (58.3) | |
| Missing | 27 | 3 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 4 | |
| CARAT® score | |||||||
| Uncontrolled disease | 81 (65.3) | 35 (71.4) | 62 (73.8) | 36 (87.8) | 44 (81.5) | 14 (87.5) | 024 |
| Controlled diseased | 43 (34.7) | 14 (28.6) | 22 (26.2) | 5 (12.2) | 10 (18.5) | 2 (12.5) | |
| Missing | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| CARAT® Asthma sub-score | |||||||
| Uncontrolled Asthma | 87 (70.2) | 40 (81.6) | 71 (84.5) | 35 (85.4) | 46 (85.2) | 14 (87.5) | 027 |
| Controlled Asthma | 37 (29.8) | 9 (18.4) | 13 (15.5) | 6 (14.6) | 8 (14.8) | 2 (12.5) | |
| Missing | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Medical specialty of asthma-related doctor appointmentsa | |||||||
| Family medicine | 65 (50.8) | 32 (65.3) | 52 (60.5) | 22 (53.7) | 29 (53.7) | 11 (68.8) | 533 |
| Pulmonology | 19 (14.8) | 17 (34.7) | 35 (40.7) | 28 (68.3) | 33 (61.1) | 8 (50.0) | 000 |
| Allergology | 11 (8.6) | 10 (20.4) | 13 (15.1) | 11 (26.8) | 5 (9.3) | 3 (18.8) | 054 |
| Internal medicine | 5 (3.9) | 3 (6.1) | 5 (5.8) | 3 (7.3) | 3 (5.6) | 0 (0.0) | 922 |
| Other | 7 (5.5) | 1 (1.0) | 4 (4.7) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | 504 |
| History of exacerbations requiring an ED visit in the previous 12 months | |||||||
| No | 80 (72.1) | 29 (64.4) | 48 (58.5) | 16 (47.1) | 23 (51.1) | 5 (35.7) | 020 |
| Yes | 31 (27.9) | 16 (35.6) | 34 (41.5) | 18 (52.9) | 22 (48.9) | 9 (64.3) | |
| Missing | 17 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 2 | |
| History of exacerbations requiring treatment with OCS for at least 3 days in the previous 12 months | |||||||
| No | 85 (81.7) | 27 (65.9) | 38 (50.0) | 18 (50.0) | 29 (69.0) | 4 (33.3) | 000 |
| Yes | 19 (18.3) | 14 (34.1) | 38 (50.0) | 18 (50.0) | 13 (31.0) | 8 (66.7) | |
| Missing | 24 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 4 | |
Notes: aEducation level – 1st cycle corresponds to Primary education (4 years); 2nd cycle corresponds to Primary education (2 years); 3rd cycle corresponds to Secondary general education (3 years); Secondary education corresponds to Secondary general education (3 years); Higher education corresponds to Tertiary education (full-time, between 3 and 7 years). P-values calculated excluding the 14 patients not classified by the algorithm. P-values in bold show statistically significant differences (p<0.05).
Abbreviations: ACO/COPD, Asthma-COPD overlap/Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; BMI, body mass index; SD, standard deviation; CARAT®, Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test; ED, emergency department; OCS, oral corticosteroid; SABA, Short-acting β2-agonists.