Describing and quantifying asthma comorbidity [corrected]: a population study.

Background: Asthma comorbidity has been correlated with poor asthma control, increased health services use, and decreased quality of life. Managing it improves these outcomes. Little is known about the amount of different types of comorbidity associated with asthma and how they vary by age.

The course of asthma activity: a population study.

Background: Unlike most chronic diseases, which tend to progress over time, asthma is known to persist, possibly resolve, and/or present with any combination of remissions and relapses. As a result, its course has been difficult to characterize and its prognosis difficult to predict.

Objective: To quantify the proportion of individuals with asthma who have active disease and, of those, the proportion who experience significant gaps in their asthma activity; and to determine factors associated with asthma activity.

Evidence-based performance indicators of primary care for asthma: a modified RAND Appropriateness Method.

Purpose: To develop evidence-based performance indicators that measure the quality of primary care for asthma.

Data Sources: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL for peer-reviewed articles published in 1998-2008 and five national/global asthma management guidelines.

Study Selection: Articles with a focus on current asthma performance indicators recognized or used in community and primary care settings.

Is large birth weight associated with asthma risk in early childhood?

Objective: To determine the association between large birth weight and the risk of developing asthma in early childhood.

Methods: All single live births (n=687 194) born in Ontario between 1 April 1995 and 31 March 2001 were followed until their sixth birthday. Their birth weight was categorised as low (<2.

Trends in asthma prevalence and incidence in Ontario, Canada, 1996-2005: a population study.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, asthma prevalence increased significantly in most Westernized countries. In more recent years, asthma trends have been less clear, with some studies suggesting that they are still rising and others suggesting that they have stabilized or decreased. A population-based cohort study was conducted to estimate asthma prevalence and incidence trends in one large Canadian province, Ontario.

Burden of comorbidity in individuals with asthma.

Background And Aims: Asthma comorbidity, such as depression and obesity, has been associated with greater healthcare use, decreased quality of life and poor asthma control. Treating this comorbidity has been shown to improve asthma outcomes as well as overall health. Despite this, asthma comorbidity remains relatively under-recognised and understudied-perhaps because most asthma occurs in young people who are believed to be healthy and relatively free of comorbidity.

Can an evidence-based guideline reminder card improve asthma management in the emergency department?

Objective: Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children. Previous studies described significant variations in acute asthma management in children. This study was conducted to examine whether asthma management in the pediatric emergency department (ED) was improved through the use of an evidence-based acute asthma care guideline reminder card.

Trends in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease prevalence, incidence, and mortality in ontario, Canada, 1996 to 2007: a population-based study.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease with a prevalence of more than 10% worldwide among adults 40 years and older. Whether this amount has been increasing, decreasing, or stable over time remains unknown.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study using population-based, health administrative data from 1991 to 2007 was conducted in Ontario, Canada.

Identifying patients with physician-diagnosed asthma in health administrative databases.

Background: Asthma imposes a heavy and expensive burden on individuals and populations. A population-based surveillance and research program based on health administrative data could measure and study the burden of asthma; however, the validity of a health administrative data diagnosis of asthma must first be confirmed.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of population-based provincial health administrative data in identifying adult patients with asthma for ongoing surveillance and research.

What is the lifetime risk of physician-diagnosed asthma in Ontario, Canada?

Rationale: Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in Canada. The estimates of risk of developing asthma may help researchers and health planners set research agendas, predict the burden of asthma on society, and target the at-risk population for asthma prevention, management, and control.

Objectives: To estimate the lifetime risk of physician-diagnosed asthma.

Neighborhood income and health outcomes in infants: how do those with complex chronic conditions fare?

Objective: To quantify the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on health outcomes during the first year after newborn discharge among infants with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) insured through a universal health plan.

Design: Longitudinal, population-based cohort study.

Setting: Ontario, Canada.

How much do health care providers value a community-based asthma care program? A survey to collect their opinions on the utilities of and barriers to its uptake.

Background: A comprehensive asthma care program (ACP) based on Canadian Asthma Consensus Guidelines was implemented in 8 primary care sites in Ontario, Canada. A survey was distributed to health care providers' (HCPs) to collect their opinions on the utilities of and barriers to the uptake of the ACP.

Methods: A 39-item self-administered survey was mailed to 184 HCPs and support staff involved in delivering the ACP at the end of implementation.

Risk factors for repeat adverse asthma events in children after visiting an emergency department.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for long-term adverse outcomes in children with asthma after visiting the emergency department (ED).

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted at the ED of a pediatric tertiary hospital in Ontario, Canada. Patient outcomes (ie, acute asthma episodes and ED visits) were measured at baseline and at 1- and 6-months post-ED discharge.

Examining intra-rater and inter-rater response agreement: a medical chart abstraction study of a community-based asthma care program.

Background: To assess the intra- and inter-rater agreement of chart abstractors from multiple sites involved in the evaluation of an Asthma Care Program (ACP).

Methods: For intra-rater agreement, 110 charts randomly selected from 1,433 patients enrolled in the ACP across eight Ontario communities were re-abstracted by 10 abstractors. For inter-rater agreement, data abstractors reviewed a set of eight fictitious charts.

Persistence and remission in childhood asthma: a population-based asthma birth cohort study.

Objectives: To examine and predict the persistence of childhood asthma.

Design: Longitudinal population-based cohort study.

Setting: Ontario, Canada.