Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115179

Jane Chang, MPH¹, Douglas Gause, MS DrPH², Jennifer Sung, PharmD, MS², and Gregory P. Geba, MD, MPH³. (1) Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, 2400 Pratt Street, Durham, NC 27705, (2) Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, One Health Plaza, East Hanover, NJ 07936, (3) USCDMA, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, One Health Plaza, E Hanover, NJ 07936, 862-778-6222, gregory.geba@pharma.novartis.com

PURPOSE: To evaluate perceived health status and functional limitations (eg, physical, social, and activity) of patients <65y or ≥65y of age with asthma or other chronic illnesses using the 2001 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. METHODS: Data from the Household Component of MEPS, a nationally representative sample of the US non-institutionalized, civilian population were analyzed. MEPS provided self-reported information on patient demographics, health conditions, perceived health status, and physical, social, and activity limitations. Patients with asthma, diabetes, or hypertension were identified based on ICD-9 codes (493, 250, 401 respectively) and were further stratified by age (<65y or ≥65y) into mutually exclusive study cohorts. Descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance adjusting for age, gender, race, and number of comorbid conditions were conducted. RESULTS: Sample size (weighted) estimates extracted for patients <65y with asthma, diabetes, or hypertension were 1183 (9.8 million), 511 (4.1 million), and 1811 (16.0 million), respectively. For patients ≥65y with asthma, diabetes, or hypertension, 61 (0.5 million), 213 (1.9 million), and 1159 (10.9 million) patients were identified, respectively. On a 5-point scale with 1=excellent and 5=poor, 39.3% of elderly asthma patients indicated their health status as fair/poor (overall mean score: 3.1) compared to 17.0% of younger patients (overall mean score: 2.6). Perceived health status among elderly asthma patients were worse compared to younger patients after adjustment for covariates (adjusted mean ±SE: 3.0±0.16 vs 2.6±0.06). Elderly asthma patients reported greater functional limitations than younger patients (physical: 31.5% vs 5.6%; social: 8.8% vs 3.2%; and activity: 26.5% vs 6.4%, respectively). Greater limitations for these endpoints were also observed for elderly vs younger patients with diabetes and hypertension, however, the observed differences were less substantial than in patients with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients with chronic conditions, especially those with asthma, may require interventions designed specifically to effectively manage their disease in order to improve health-status and functional ability.

Learning Objectives:

• To assess the relative functional impact of asthma in elderlies compared to other chronic health conditions.

Keywords: Asthma, Elderly

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commertial supporters WITH THE EXCEPTION OF Sponsored by Novartis Pharmacueticals Corp..