Characteristics Associated With the Presence of a Functional Limitation Among Adults With Asthma in the United States: Findings From the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Study
Author(s)
David R. Axon, MS, PhD.
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
OBJECTIVES: Adults with asthma often suffer from functional limitations that impact their daily activities and quality of life, yet the personal characteristics of people with asthma that may influence functional limitation status are not well documented. The objective of this paper was to explore the characteristics associated with the presence of a functional limitation among adults with asthma in the United States (US).
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included US adults with asthma in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. A multivariable logistic model assessed the association between the following characteristics and the dependent variable (i.e., presence of a functional limitation): age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, employment, poverty, marital, smoking, exercise, pain, mental health, and physical health status. The alpha value was 0.05.
RESULTS: The study sample included 2328 US adults with asthma (functional limitation n=673, no functional limitation n=1655), which represented a weighted estimated population of 37,288,079 US adults with asthma (functional limitation n=7,412,851, no functional limitation n=29,875,227). Characteristics associated with the presence of a functional limitation versus no functional limitation in multivariable logistic regression included: age ≥65 versus 18-39 years (odds ratio [OR]=5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]=3.4-10.1), age 40-64 versus 18-39 years (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.4-4.1), being unemployed versus employed (OR=2.1, 95% CI=1.4-3.3), not married versus married (OR=1.7, 95% CI=1.1-2.6), smoker versus non-smoker (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.1-3.0), no regular exercise versus regular exercise (OR=1.6, 95% CI=1.1-2.5), quite a bit/extreme versus little/moderate pain (OR=4.0, 95% CI=2.7-5.9), fair/poor versus good overall health (OR=2.3, 95% CI=1.5-6.9), and fair/poor versus excellent/very good physical health (OR=3.6, 95% CI=1.9-6.9).
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified the characteristics statistically associated with the presence of a functional limitation among a national set of US adults with asthma. These findings may offer some insight into functional limitations among US adults with asthma, although additional work is needed to investigate these findings further.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included US adults with asthma in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. A multivariable logistic model assessed the association between the following characteristics and the dependent variable (i.e., presence of a functional limitation): age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, employment, poverty, marital, smoking, exercise, pain, mental health, and physical health status. The alpha value was 0.05.
RESULTS: The study sample included 2328 US adults with asthma (functional limitation n=673, no functional limitation n=1655), which represented a weighted estimated population of 37,288,079 US adults with asthma (functional limitation n=7,412,851, no functional limitation n=29,875,227). Characteristics associated with the presence of a functional limitation versus no functional limitation in multivariable logistic regression included: age ≥65 versus 18-39 years (odds ratio [OR]=5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]=3.4-10.1), age 40-64 versus 18-39 years (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.4-4.1), being unemployed versus employed (OR=2.1, 95% CI=1.4-3.3), not married versus married (OR=1.7, 95% CI=1.1-2.6), smoker versus non-smoker (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.1-3.0), no regular exercise versus regular exercise (OR=1.6, 95% CI=1.1-2.5), quite a bit/extreme versus little/moderate pain (OR=4.0, 95% CI=2.7-5.9), fair/poor versus good overall health (OR=2.3, 95% CI=1.5-6.9), and fair/poor versus excellent/very good physical health (OR=3.6, 95% CI=1.9-6.9).
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified the characteristics statistically associated with the presence of a functional limitation among a national set of US adults with asthma. These findings may offer some insight into functional limitations among US adults with asthma, although additional work is needed to investigate these findings further.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
EPH42
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health
Disease
Respiratory-Related Disorders (Allergy, Asthma, Smoking, Other Respiratory)