- Title
- Psychosocial outcomes are related to asthma control and quality of life in pregnant women with asthma
- Creator
- Powell, Heather; McCaffery, Kirsten; Murphy, Vanessa E.; Hensley, Michael J.; Clifton, Vicki L; Giles, Warwick; Gibson, Peter G.
- Relation
- Journal of Asthma Vol. 48, Issue 10, p. 1032-1040
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02770903.2011.631239
- Publisher
- Informa Healthcare
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2011
- Description
- Background: Little is known about the psychosocial impact and perceived teratogenic (fetal harm due to medication) risks of asthma treatment(inhaled/oralcorticosteroids and β-agonist) during pregnancy. Aims: To assess the perception of asthma control, quality of life (QoL), and perceived risks of therapy in pregnant women with asthma. Methods: Pregnant women with asthma (n = 125) were recruited between 12 and 20 weeks gestation. QoL (generic: Short Form-12 Health Survey v1, and asthma specific: Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire-Marks (AQLQM)) and psychological variables were assessed using the Perceived Control of Asthma Questionnaire (PCAQ), the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, and the Six-Item Short-Form State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6). Women’s perceptions of the teratogenic risks of asthma therapy were also assessed and analyzed for adherence to maintenance inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs), poor asthma control, and QoL. Results: Women reported good QoL (median AQLQ-M total score/maximum score = 0.88/10), moderate ability to deal with asthma symptoms (mean PCAQ score = 42.6/55), positive beliefs about their asthma and low anxiety (median STAI score = 26.7/80). Perceived teratogenic risks for asthma drugs were excessive and class dependent. Women perceived there was a 42% teratogenic risk for oral corticosteroid, a 12% risk for ICSs, and a 5% risk with short-acting β-agonist. Illness beliefs, emotional response to illness (p = .030), age ≥ 30 years (p = .046), and maintenance ICS use (p = .045) were significantly associated with uncontrolled asthma, while maintenance ICS use (p = .023), illness beliefs, consequences (p = .044), timeline (p = .016), and emotional response (p = .015) and anxiety (p ≤ .0001) were significantly associated with reduced QoL. Conclusions: In pregnancy, women with asthma experience good QoL but overestimate teratogenic risks of asthma medication. Maintenance ICS use, illness beliefs, and anxiety are associated with impaired QoL and asthma control.
- Subject
- asthma control; illness beliefs; perception; quality of life; teratogenic risk
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1047449
- Identifier
- uon:14782
- Identifier
- ISSN:0277-0903
- Language
- eng
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