Wheeze not current asthma affects quality of life in young adults with asthma

BACKGROUND: A study was undertaken to investigate quality of life in asthma, defined by differing criteria, to see which may be most appropriate in epidemiological studies. METHODS: The 426 adults were participants in the follow up phase of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) in Melbourne. As part of the laboratory visit, participants completed the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire, a detailed respiratory questionnaire, and underwent lung function testing. RESULTS: Both the physical component summary and the mental component summary scores were significantly worse in those with wheeze in the previous 12 months than in those without wheeze. Only the mental component summary score was significantly worse in those with current asthma than in those without. In contrast, in those with current asthma or bronchial hyperreactivity only, neither of the summary scales was significantly different between cases and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of life is severely impaired in individuals with wheeze in the previous 12 months while individuals with current asthma or bronchial hyperreactivity alone did not appear to have significantly reduced quality of life.