Press Release Source: World Allergy Organization

[Guest guest]

Press Release Source: World Allergy Organization

New Global Asthma Survey Reveals Serious Communication and Treatment

Barriers Between U.S. Physicians and Patients

Monday May 22, 11:15 am ET

Communication Gaps Lead to Lack of Patient Understanding about

Asthma and Medication Side Effects

http://biz./prnews/060522/nym027.html?.v=50

SAN DIEGO, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Today alarming United States

(U.S.) findings from the adult arm of the Global Asthma Physician

and Patient (GAPP) Survey were unveiled at the 101st International

Conference of the American Thoracic Society, highlighting

significant disconnects between physician and patient assessments on

issues that affect health outcomes, including medication side

effects, patient education and physician-patient communication. The

GAPP Survey, conducted among 3,459 adult respondents globally in 16

countries, is the first-ever global quantitative survey to ask

physicians and patients similar questions in an effort to illuminate

serious discrepancies and examine asthma attitudes and treatment

practices between physicians and patients.

ADVERTISEMENT

" Our findings from the GAPP Survey affirm that current methods for

treating asthma are unsatisfactory, " stated S. Blaiss, MD,

University of Tennessee Health and Science Center, Memphis,

Tennessee, for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and

Immunology. " The key to treating chronic conditions such as asthma

is to enhance patient treatment compliance through better patient

education, increase communication among physicians and patients, and

improve treatment options. "

The GAPP Survey adult findings highlight a marked disconnect between

physician and patient perception of asthma management, unveil key

barriers to optimal asthma management and identify limitations of

currently available asthma medications.

" These findings reveal significant unmet needs in the asthma

treatment category, " said A. Kaliner, MD, Institute for

Asthma & Allergy, Chevy Chase, MD, USA, president of the World

Allergy Organization. " In the area of short-term side effects,

results reveal inconsistencies between the perceptions of

physicians, and patients diagnosed with asthma. In many cases,

patients are not able to identify these side effects. Better

education and new treatments may address some of the issues raised

in this survey, and potentially improve patient outcomes. "

Side Effects Impact Treatment Compliance and Health Outcomes

When patients do recognize asthma medication side effects, a lack of

treatment compliance is often the consequence. One quarter (25%) of

patients who have experienced at least one side effect have switched

medications, and a comparable proportion have discontinued treatment

(22%), skipped doses (19%), and changed dosage (26%).

Lack of compliance can be dangerous and greatly impact health

outcomes. Patients who are not compliant with their asthma treatment

all the time experience at least one of the following: increased

symptoms (69%), limited physical activity (58%), increased use of

rescue medication (46%), nighttime awakenings (39%), and more

frequent asthma attacks or exacerbations (35%). Additionally,

consequences of treatment non-compliance increase resource

utilization with more physician visits (25%) and more

hospitalizations or emergency room visits (13%).

Physicians and patients with asthma differ in estimates of treatment

compliance. While more than a third (35%) of patients report that

they comply with their physician's treatment instructions all of the

time, no physicians believe this to be true of their patients;

furthermore, almost all (97%) physicians say they know their

patients are not complying with treatment instructions because they

ask, because their symptoms are not controlled (89%), or their

patients (88%) tell them.

Physician-Patient Communication Gap Hinders Education and

Understanding

The findings highlight a disparity between actual patient awareness

of asthma medication side effects, and physician estimates of

patient awareness. One-third (36%) of patients experienced short-

term side effects, such as hoarseness, fungal infections in the

mouth, or sore throat. Interestingly, 19% of patients say they are

not aware of these short-term side effects; yet only 5% of

physicians who prescribe these treatments believe patients are

unaware.

Patients' limited knowledge of side effects may be attributable to a

communication gap between physicians and themselves. An overwhelming

majority (73% for short-term side effects) of patients who are

currently or have ever taken asthma medication report rarely or

never discussing side effects with their physician. Conversely, most

(90%) physicians say they sometimes or always discuss short-term

side effects. Although a majority (62%) of patients say they

initiate these discussions, over two-thirds (86%) of physicians

affirm that they do.

Moreover, perceptions of in-office patient education vary between

physicians and patients. While 38% of patients report that no time

during office visits is spent discussing techniques for successful

asthma management, most (90%) physicians say that up to half of a

typical visit is spent on such conversations.

Physicians and Patients Agree: There Is a Need for New Asthma

Treatments

Although physician and patient assessments of asthma management

differ, they do agree that currently available asthma treatments are

less than ideal. Nearly all (95%) physicians believe that inhaled

corticosteroids (ICS) are the " gold standard " for asthma treatment.

Surprisingly, nearly half (47%) of physicians consider prescribing

long acting beta-agonists (LABA) and a majority (62%) consider

prescribing combination medications (ICS + LABA) as first-line

treatment for patients with mild persistent asthma.

According to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines, low-

dose glucocorticosteroid mono-therapy is the recommended first-line

treatment for adult patients with mild persistent asthma.(1) A

recent public health advisory, announced due to increased death

rates, from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)(2) reemphasizes

that long-acting beta2 adrenergic agonists should not be the first

treatment physicians prescribe for patients with asthma, and should

be added to treatment only when patients do not adequately respond

to other asthma medications.

A majority (79%) of physicians believe there are unmet needs in the

ICS treatment category. Among key ICS attributes such as efficacy

and convenience, physicians report lowest satisfaction with side

effect issues, including local and systemic side effects.(3)

Furthermore, most (76%) patients would welcome new asthma treatment

options. Patients also report comparable efficacy and an improved

side effect profile to be the most vital medication attributes.

Please visit http://www.gappsurvey.org for further information on

the GAPP Survey.

About the GAPP Survey Advisory Board

The GAPP Survey advisory board is comprised of the following

professional organizations:

* World Allergy Organization

The World Allergy Organization (WAO) is an international

umbrella

organization whose members consist of 74 regional and national

allergology, asthma, and clinical immunology societies from

around the

world. By collaborating with member societies, WAO provides

direct

educational outreach programs, symposia and lectureships to

members in

92 countries. The organization was founded in 1951 and has

successfully

organized 18 major congresses.

* American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI)

organization is a U.S. professional association of 4,900

allergists/immunologists established in 1942. ACAAI is

dedicated to

improving the quality of patient care in allergy and

immunology through

research, advocacy and professional and public education.

The GAPP Survey Working Group

* S. Blaiss, University of Tennessee Health Science

Center,

Memphis, TN, USA, for the American College of Allergy, Asthma &

Immunology

* E. Baena-Cagnani, Catholic University of Cordoba,

Cordoba,

Argentina, for the World Allergy Organization

* G. Walter Canonica, University of Genova DIMI, Genova, Italy,

for the

World Allergy Organization

* Dahl, Aarhus University Hospital, Department of

Respiratory

Diseases, Aarhus, Denmark, for the World Allergy Organization

* A. Kaliner, Institute for Asthma & Allergy, Chevy

Chase, MD,

USA, for the World Allergy Organization

* Erkka J. Valovirta, Turku Allergy Center, Turku, Finland, for

the World

Allergy Organization

The GAPP Survey was underwritten by a grant from ALTANA Pharma.

Study Design/Methodology

Interactive® conducted the survey on behalf of the GAPP

Survey Advisory Board via 3,459 online, telephone and face-to-face

interviews between May 18 and August 24, 2005. A total of 5,482

physicians at patients were interviewed globally: 1,726 adults age

18+ who have been diagnosed with asthma and 1,733 generalist or

specialist physicians who treat adults were surveyed in 16 countries

(Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland,

Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain,

Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States); 2,023

interviews were conducted through the pediatric arm of the survey.

Sample sizes for each country were about 100 for both patients and

physicians, except for in the U.S. where the sample sizes were about

200 for each group. Specifically, in the U.S. 208 patients and 224

physicians were surveyed. Physicians surveyed had to meet the

following criteria: currently practicing medicine for 3-30 years,

sees at least three adult asthma patients per week, writes at least

one prescription for asthma medications per week. Generalists

include family practitioners, general practitioners and internal

medicine practitioners, and specialists include allergists,

pulmonologists and respirologists.

The U.S. data were the only data weighted. Physician data were

weighted by physician specialty, gender and years in practice to

reflect the characteristics of physicians in the master file of

physicians in the American Medical Association. Patient data were

weighted by gender, education, age, household, income and region to

reflect the characteristics of adult asthma patients from the

National Health Interview. Data from the other countries surveyed

were not weighted.

With probability samples of this size, there is a 95% certainty that

the overall patient results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2

percentage points and the overall physician results have a sampling

error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Sampling error for the

U.S. patient and physician samples is plus or minus 10 percentage

points. This online sample is not a probability sample.

About Asthma

Asthma is a chronic lung disease caused by airway inflammation and

results in airway obstruction in response to certain stimuli.

Allergy is responsible for more than 50% of asthma in adults. Atopic

individuals -- those who have a personal or familial tendency to

become sensitized and produce IgE antibodies to allergens --

frequently experience more than one allergic disease, and allergic

rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and atopic eczema frequently co-

exist with allergic asthma. It is characterized by a variety of

symptoms including wheezing, coughing and a tightening of the

airways, which causes shortness of breath and can be life-

threatening. According to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA),

more than 300 million people worldwide patients have asthma and the

prevalence is growing by approximately 50% every decade.(4)

Worldwide deaths from asthma total more than 180,000 annually. In

the U.S., approximately 20 million Americans have asthma and more

than 5000 deaths each year can be attributed to the disease.(5)

About Interactive®

Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com), based in

Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing

market research firm in the world, most widely known for The

Poll® and for its pioneering leadership in the online market

research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering

insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company

blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic

consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and

enduring value. Interactive serves clients worldwide through

its United States, Europe (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/europe)

and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris,

France (http://www.novatris.com), and through an independent global

network of affiliate market research companies.

(1) GINA ''Pocket Guide for Asthma Management and Prevention,''

2005.

Available at:

http://www.ginasthma.com/Guidelineitem.asp??

l1=2 & l2=1 & intId=37

Accessed on April 20, 2006.

(2) United States Food and Drug Administration. ''Long Acting

Beta

Agonists Advisory.'' November 2005. Available at

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/LABA/default.htm.

Accessed

February 7, 2006.

(3) Average responses of 6.4 and 7.1, respectively, based on a

scale of

one to ten

(4) World Health Organization: ''Bronchial asthma.'' Available

at:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs206. Accessed

January 13,

2006.

(5) Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America: ''Asthma facts and

figures.'' Available at http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?

id=8 & sub=42.

Accessed April 25, 2006