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My Life with Asthma

In early 2017, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), with support from AstraZeneca, conducted a survey on living with asthma.

The My Life with Asthma online survey gave insight into the different challenges and experiences those with asthma, especially severe asthma, face.

The national three-part study about asthma in the U.S. included three survey populations:

  • Adult patients with asthma
  • Caregivers of adults with asthma
  • Health care professionals who care for adults with asthma

The goal of the study was to better understand the burden of asthma, especially severe asthma. The more we know about severe asthma, the more we can change how we talk about it. We want these discussions to focus on those with severe asthma.

There were 804 people who qualified to participate in the survey. We asked them questions about:

  • Quality of life due to asthma
  • Severity of asthma
  • Knowledge of asthma
  • Thoughts and beliefs about asthma

Here are some of the findings about those with severe asthma from this survey:

  • 97 percent report that their asthma limits their everyday tasks
  • 93 percent said their asthma negatively affects their physical health
  • 83 percent said asthma affects their personal relationships with family, spouses/partners, friends, co-workers
  • 78 percent said asthma was always in the back of their mind
  • 76 percent said they feel frustrated by their asthma
  • 71 percent said asthma negatively affects their emotional health
  • 55 percent had symptoms more than once a day
  • 48 percent used their quick-relief inhaler more than once a day
  • 41 percent said they believe their asthma is so severe that there are no medicines that can make it better

Frequency of Asthma Symptoms
The results of this study will help us improve educational materials and raise awareness about asthma.

Acknowledgements

My Life with Asthma was sponsored by AstraZeneca.

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