The health and economic burden of breathlessness, Australia, 2019: a national survey.

Objective: To examine the impact of breathlessness on quality of life, health care use, productivity loss, and economic costs in Australia.

Study Design: National internet-based survey of Australian adults drawn from a web-based survey panel (National Breathlessness Survey).

Participants, Setting: Australian adults (18 years or older), nationally representative by age group, gender, state of residence, and postcode-based socio-economic status (Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage quintile), 13-30 October 2019.

Prevalence and burden of difficult-to-treat and severe asthma in Australia: A national population survey.

Background And Objective: Most evidence about difficult-to-treat and severe asthma (DTTA) comes from clinical trials and registries. We aimed to identify people with DTTA from a large nationally representative asthma population and describe their characteristics and healthcare utilization compared with people whose asthma was not 'difficult-to-treat'.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of Australians aged ≥18 years with current asthma from large web-based survey panels.

Contribution of obesity to breathlessness in a large nationally representative sample of Australian adults.

Background And Objective: Breathlessness is prevalent and associated with medical consequences. Obesity is related to breathlessness. However, the magnitude of its contribution has not been clearly documented.

Qualitative validation of the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale as a patient-reported measure of breathlessness severity.

Introduction: The modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale is a measure of breathlessness severity recommended by guidelines and utilised as an inclusion criterion or endpoint for clinical trials. No studies have been conducted to validate the categorical descriptors against the dyspnoea severity grade.

Methods: This study utilised cognitive interviews (Think Aloud method) to assess the content validity of the mMRC scale among 16 participants (13 with cardiac/respiratory disease).

Lower workforce participation is associated with more severe persisting breathlessness.

Background: Not being able to work has negative health, social and financial consequences. Persisting breathlessness is prevalent in working-aged people. Is it associated with lower workforce participation? This study, using the South Australian Health Omnibus, aimed to explore associations between paid workforce participation and persisting breathlessness intensity, and economic impacts on income in people of working age.

Relationship between life-time exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and carotid artery intima-media thickness in Australian children aged 11-12 years.

Long-term exposure to air pollutants, especially particulates, in adulthood is related to cardiovascular diseases and vascular markers of atherosclerosis. However, whether vascular changes in children is related to exposure to air pollutants remains unknown. This study examined whether childhood exposure to air pollutants was related to a marker of cardiovascular risk, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in children aged 11-12 years old.

Prevalence and burden of breathlessness in Australian adults: The National Breathlessness Survey-a cross-sectional web-based population survey.

Background And Objective: Chronic respiratory symptoms (in particular, breathlessness and cough) can cause physical, social and emotional distress, and may indicate the presence of an underlying disease that presages future poor health outcomes. Our aim was to investigate the burden of breathlessness in Australian adults, including breathlessness that may be undiagnosed, unlabelled or untreated.

Methods: The National Breathlessness Survey was a cross-sectional, web-based survey conducted in October 2019.

Inappropriate prescribing of inhaled corticosteroids: are they being prescribed for respiratory tract infections? A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Guidelines recommend regular use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)-containing medications for all patients with persistent asthma and those with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is important to identify indicators of inappropriate prescribing.

Aims: To test the hypothesis that ICS are prescribed for the management of respiratory infections in some patients lacking evidence of chronic airways disease.

Cost is a major barrier to the use of inhaled corticosteroids for obstructive lung disease.

Objective: To examine the effect of the level of patient copayment on the rate of purchase of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) by patients with obstructive lung disease.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study of records of all prescriptions for ICS dispensed to general and concessional beneficiaries aged 15 years or over in the period January 2003 to December 2006. Data were obtained from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which subsidises medication costs for all Australians.

Asthma in older adults: a holistic, person-centred and problem-oriented approach.

Regardless of how obstructive lung disease is labelled, targeting treatment to components of the problem is the best solution.

The Halogen assay--a new technique for measuring airborne allergen.

The Halogen assay is a new technique for measuring airborne allergen. The assay is unique in that it is capable of analyzing allergens and particles together, combining the advantages of morphological approaches and immunoassay. The Halogen assay allows direct observation of the particles that carry the allergen as well as being capable of identifying all the allergen sources an individual is exposed and sensitized to.

Trends in hospitalizations for anaphylaxis, angioedema, and urticaria in Australia, 1993-1994 to 2004-2005.

Background: Recent investigations in developed countries have found marked increases in the prevalence of allergic conditions.

Objective: We sought to examine recent time trends in the prevalence of anaphylaxis, angioedema, and urticaria by describing trends and age and sex differentials in hospitalizations for these conditions in Australia.

Methods: Data on hospital admissions and deaths for anaphylaxis, angioedema, and urticaria were extracted for the periods 1993-1994 to 2004-2005 and 1997-2004, respectively.

A nationwide perspective on asthma in older Australians.

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW: What is the prevalence of impaired lung function among older people in Australia? How can we differentiate between asthma and other causes of breathlessness in population-based health surveys of older people? What are the effects of ageing on people with asthma? WHAT WE NEED TO DO: Improve existing survey measures and accuracy of diagnosis. Incorporate measures of spirometric function into health surveys of representative samples of the general population. Use spirometry in the diagnostic work-up of older patients with dyspnoea.

The burden of asthma in children: an Australian perspective.

The burden of asthma among children is high in Australia compared with many other countries. Recent data show that 14-16% of children report a diagnosis of asthma that remains a problem. Boys, children under the age of 5 years and urban indigenous children experience a greater burden of asthma than other children.

Inhaled latex allergen (Hev b 1).

Background: IgE-mediated responses to natural rubber latex allergens have become a major health problem among recognized risk groups.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to measure the amounts of Hevea brasiliensis latex allergen (Hev b 1) inhaled and deposited on surfaces when latex or vinyl gloves were worn and compare the results with the conventional measures (breathing zone samplers) of occupational exposure.

Methods: Hev b 1 exposure was measured by nasal sampling and breathing zone sampling.