Table 2.
Demographics of the Australian Adult Population Living with Asthma, as a Whole and by Age Rage. Data Was Extracted from Electronic Medical Records and Self-Reported by Questionnaire Participants
| Population | EMR Data for Total Study Cohort | Self-Reported Responses Supplemented with EMR Data for Questionnaire Participantsa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–54 Years Old | >55 Years Old | Total Study Cohort | 18–54 Years Old | >55 Years Old | All Questionnaire Participants | |
| Demographic characteristic | ||||||
| N = 4778 | N = 3090 | N = 7868 | N = 226 | N = 289 | N = 515 | |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||||
| Non-missing | 4758 | 3086 | 7844 | 226 | 289 | 515 |
| Female | 2894 (61%) | 2117 (69%) | 5011 (64%) | 164 (73%) | 198 (69%) | 362 (70%) |
| Smoking status, n (%) | ||||||
| Non-missing | 4209 | 2899 | 7108 | 225 | 315 | 514 |
| Never | 2854 (68%) | 1923 (66%) | 4777 (67%) | 151 (67%) | 178 (62%) | 329 (64%) |
| Current | 705 (17%) | 168 (6%) | 873 (12%) | 16 (7%) | 18 (6%) | 34 (7%) |
| Former | 650 (15%) | 808 (28%) | 1458 (21%) | 58 (26%) | 93 (32%) | 151 (29%) |
| BMI, n (%) | ||||||
| Non-missing | 2501 | 2459 | 4960 | 182 | 258 | 440 |
| Underweight (<18.5) | 49 (2%) | 19 (1%) | 68 (1%) | 3 (2%) | 1 (0%) | 4 (1%) |
| Normal (>18.5 - <25) | 659 (26%) | 387 (16%) | 1046 (21%) | 56 (31%) | 47 (18%) | 103 (23%) |
| Overweight (>25 - <30) | 716 (29%) | 801 (33%) | 1517 (31%) | 49 (27%) | 79 (31%) | 128 (29%) |
| Obese (>30) | 1077 (43%) | 1252 (51%) | 2329 (47%) | 74 (41%) | 131 (51%) | 205 (47%) |
| GINA step, n (%) | ||||||
| Step 1 (as needed SABA) | 1726 (36%) | 852 (28%) | 2578 (33%) | 64 (28%) | 46 (16%) | 110 (21%) |
| Step 2 (ICS only low dose) | 239 (5%) | 124 (4%) | 363 (5%) | 14 (6%) | 18 (6%) | 32 (6%) |
| Step 3 (ICS only medium dose or ICS/LABA low dose) | 1001 (21%) | 644 (21%) | 1645 (18%) | 48 (21%) | 60 (21%) | 108 (21%) |
| Step 4 (ICS only high dose or ICS/LABA medium dose) | 1207 (25%) | 882 (29%) | 2089 (27%) | 48 (21%) | 78 (27%) | 126 (24%) |
| Step 5a (ICS ICS/LABA high dose) | 578 (12%) | 488 (16%) | 1066 (14%) | 36 (16%) | 42 (15%) | 78 (15%) |
| Step 5b (long-term OCS or biologics) | 27 (1%) | 100 (3%) | 127 (2%) | 16 (7%) | 45 (16%) | 61 (12%) |
| OCS prescription patterns | ||||||
| Prescription of acute OCS | 891 (19%) | 630 (20%) | 1521 (19%) | 43 (19%) | 75 (26%) | 118 (23%) |
| Prescription of acute OCS with repeats | 135 (3%) | 125 (4%) | 260 (3%) | 13 (6%) | 27 (9%) | 40 (8%) |
| Prescription of long-term OCS | 81 (2%) | 187 (6%) | 268 (3%) | 10 (4%) | 16 (6%) | 26 (5%) |
| Prescription of long-term OCS with repeats | 37 (1%) | 115 (4%) | 152 (2%) | 3 (1%) | 7 (2%) | 10 (2%) |
| N of comorbidities, n (%) | ||||||
| 0 | 468 (10%) | 101 (3%) | 569 (7%) | 5 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (1%) |
| 1 | 908 (19%) | 226 (7%) | 1134 (14%) | 13 (6%) | 6 (2%) | 19 (4%) |
| 2 | 943 (20%) | 393 (13%) | 1336 (17%) | 40 (18%) | 23 (8%) | 63 (12%) |
| 3 or more | 2459 (51%) | 2370 (77%) | 4829 (61%) | 168 (74%) | 260 (90%) | 428 (83%) |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||||
| Potentially steroid related comorbidities | ||||||
| Diabetes | 272 (6%) | 584 (19%) | 856 (11%) | 18 (8%) | 49 (17%) | 67 (13%) |
| Osteoporosis | 907 (19%) | 1094 (35%) | 2001 (25%) | 60 (27%) | 127 (44%) | 187 (36%) |
| Obesity | 2316 (48%) | 1548 (50%) | 3864 (49%) | 116 (51%) | 164 (57%) | 280 (54%) |
| Hypertension | 284 (6%) | 1160 (38%) | 1444 (18%) | 15 (7%) | 110 (38%) | 125 (24%) |
| Sleep apnoea | 1699 (36%) | 1672 (54%) | 3371 (43%) | 100 (44%) | 181 (63%) | 281 (55%) |
| Heart diseaseb | 41 (1%) | 221 (7%) | 262 (3%) | 6 (3%) | 28 (10%) | 34 (7%) |
| Depression/anxiety | 1761 (37%) | 1130 (37%) | 2891 (37%) | 107 (47%) | 104 (36%) | 211 (41%) |
| Type-2 asthma comorbidities | ||||||
| Allergies or allergic asthmac | 3141 (66%) | 2586 (84%) | 5727 (73%) | 181 (80%) | 263 (91%) | 444 (86%) |
| Atopic dermatitis | 1244 (26%) | 1002 (32%) | 2246 (29%) | 73 (32%) | 83 (29%) | 156 (30%) |
| Allergic rhinitis | 1001 (21%) | 824 (27%) | 1825 (23%) | 195 (86%) | 252 (87%) | 447 (87%) |
| Nasal polyps | 14 (0%) | 32 (1%) | 46 (1%) | 2 (1%) | 7 (2%) | 9 (2%) |
| Confounding asthma comorbidities | ||||||
| GERD | 648 (14%) | 1156 (37%) | 1804 (23%) | 45 (20%) | 107 (37%) | 152 (30%) |
Notes: aQuestionnaires captured data on age, gender, smoking status, BMI, GINA step, requirement for long-term OCS, number of comorbidities, and occurrence of allergic rhinitis; the occurrence of other comorbidities other than allergic rhinitis was provided by EMR for questionnaire participants. bDefined as ischemic, arrhythmia, conductive, valvular, myopathic pathologies, see Appendix 3 for a full list of diagnostics read codes and free text search terms; cSee Appendix 4 for a full list of diagnostics read codes and free text search terms.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; EMR, electronic medical records; GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease; GINA, Global Initiative for Asthma; ICS, inhaled corticosteroids; ICS/LABA, inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting beta agonists; OCS, oral corticosteroids; SABA/ICS, short acting beta agonists/inhaled corticosteroids.