“These findings suggest that if we can catch and treat people with COPD and asthma early, we can significantly improve their lives," -Dr. Shawn AaronAdults with undiagnosed COPD or asthma have worse quality of life, greater healthcare use and are less productive at work than healthy adults, according to a study led by Dr. Shawn Aaron published in the American Journal of Respiratory And Critical Care Medicine. His team is working on ways to catch patients with asthma and COPD early, and these findings suggest doing so could significantly improve their lives.
By calling random telephone numbers at 17 sites across the country, the team recruited 2,800 Canadians who complained of respiratory symptoms but had not been diagnosed with lung disease. Testing confirmed 11.5% of these people had COPD and 9.3% had asthma. Their answers to questions about their symptoms, impact on daily activities, and healthcare use were compared to those from a healthy group with no respiratory symptoms, and a group diagnosed with COPD or asthma who were recruited in the same way.
The team has developed a questionnaire to catch these patients early and is running a clinical trial to see whether intensive treatment can improve their outcomes, with results expected in 2024.
“These findings suggest that if we can catch and treat people with COPD and asthma early, we can significantly improve their lives," says Dr. Shawn Aaron, senior scientist and respirologist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa
Authors: Emily Gerstein , Jared Bierbrier , G A Whitmore , Katherine L Vandemheen , Celine Bergeron , Louis-Philippe Boulet , Andreanne Cote , Stephen K Field , Erika Penz , R. Andrew McIvor , Catherine Lemière , Samir Gupta , Paul Hernandez , Irvin Mayers , Mohit Bhutani , M. Diane Lougheed , Christopher J. Licskai , Tanweer Azher , Nicole Ezer ; Martha Ainslie , Gonzalo G. Alvarez , Sunita Mulpuru ; Shawn D Aaron
Funding: This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. All research at The Ottawa Hospital is also enabled by generous donations to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
Core Resources: Ottawa Methods Centre
The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
