© 2002 American Public Health Association
Mark D. Eisner and Paul D. Blanc are with the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, and the Cardiovascular Research Institute, and Edward H. Yelin and Laura Trupin are with the Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco. Mark D. Eisner is also with the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Mark D. Eisner, MD, MPH, University of California San Francisco, 350 Parnassus Ave, Ste 609, San Francisco, CA 94117 (e-mail: eisner{at}itsa.ucsf.edu).
Objectives. This study examined the impact of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on health status and work disability. Methods. We used data from a population-based sample of 3805 California adults. Results. Compared with adults with no chronic health conditions, adults with COPD or asthma had a greater risk of self-reported diminished general health (odds ratio [OR] = 10.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.31, 19.0 and OR = 3.92; 95% CI = 2.31, 6.65, respectively). Respondents with COPD or asthma also had worse mental health status, as indicated by a greater risk of depressive symptoms (OR = 10.05; 95% CI = 5.29, 19.08 and OR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.33, 5.04). COPD was associated with reduced current employment (OR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.24, 0.71). Conclusions. Asthma and COPD are associated with poor health status and greater work disability.
Asthma is a common chronic health condition, affecting about 5% of the US adult population.1 It may have a significant negative impact on health status and the capacity to work. Previous investigators have found that asthma is associated with significant reduction in health-related quality of life.27 As a result, work limitation appears to be common among persons with asthma.814 In terms of indirect health costs, the impact of asthma on decreased work productivity is substantial, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the United States.15,16 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is also a common and costly chronic medical condition. Among adults of working age (1864 years), about 5% report having COPD, defined as either chronic bronchitis or emphysema.1 COPD has been associated with significantly decreased health-related quality of life.1723 Although several studies have examined the impact of workplace conditions on the development of COPD, the impact of COPD on work disability has received less attention.2428 Asthma and COPD, the most common obstructive lung diseases, appear to be associated with impaired health status. Previous studies have examined health status and work disability in samples recruited from clinical sources.24,69,1723 As a consequence, these estimates are based on persons who probably have more severe disease. The impact of asthma and COPD on health status and employment in the general population has not been well characterized. In this study, we examined the impact of asthma and COPD on health status and work disability.
Sample Recruitment We used data from the California Work and Health Survey, a population-based study of California adults aged 18 years or older. The survey was conducted 3 times with independent samples in 1998, 1999, and 2000, for a total of 3805 participating subjects. In all 3 survey waves, the majority of subjects were recruited by random-digit dialing. Detailed sampling methods have been reported.29 Of the 1771 participating subjects in 1998, 271 African Americans, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and adults with disabilities were randomly oversampled by previously described procedures.29 Of 1131 subjects in 1999, 431 African Americans, Asians/Pacific Islanders, adults with disabilities, and adults aged 45 to 70 years were randomly oversampled. Of 903 subjects in 2000, 462 African Americans, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Latinos were randomly oversampled. The completion rates for each survey wave ranged from 55% to 57%.
Classification of Chronic Health Conditions The survey elicited other physiciandiagnosed chronic health conditions, including hypertension, heart disease (angina, congestive heart failure, heart attack, or other heart problems), diabetes, cancer, migraine headaches, ulcer, kidney or bladder problems, back problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, and arthritis. Among respondents who did not report asthma or COPD, those who reported 1 or more of these conditions were defined as having other, nonrespiratory chronic health conditions.
Health Status Outcomes The survey also included questions that ascertained mental health status. Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Short Geriatric Depression Score, a 15-item scale that assesses mood during the past week.34,35 A score cutpoint of 7 indicates a high degree of depressive symptomatology. A question from the Detroit Area Study was used to assess sleep quality: "During the past month, how would you rate your sleep quality overallexcellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?"36 To assess diminished social functioning, we used 3 questions from the Alameda County Study.37 We defined the outcome "no close friends" as the response "none" to the question, "How many close friends do you have? (People that you feel at ease with, can talk to about private matters and can call on for help)." We ascertained frequency of face-to-face contact using the survey item, "How many of these friends or relatives do you see at least once a month?" We measured frequency of telephone contact using the question, "How often do you talk on the telephone with any close relatives or friends?" For both questions, we defined infrequent contact as less than once per month.
Employment Status
The survey also assessed self-perceived limitation in work capacity due to a chronic health condition (lasting
Other Demographic and Personal Characteristics
Statistical Analysis To evaluate the impact of asthma and COPD on health status and work disability, we conducted logistic regression analyses comparing these subjects with 2 generalpopulation reference groups: persons with other, nonrespiratory chronic health conditions and persons with no chronic conditions. In this manner, we evaluated disability specifically attributable to asthma or COPD (vs that attributable to any chronic medical condition). In addition, we evaluated the health and employment status of adults with COPD compared with those with asthma. For each health status or employment outcome variable, we conducted these comparisons using a series of logistic regression models with different referent groups. The first logistic regression model included indicator predictor variables for asthma, COPD, and other chronic health conditions (referent group = no chronic conditions). The second model included indicator variables for asthma, COPD, and no chronic health conditions (referent group = other chronic health conditions). This model evaluated the impact of asthma and COPD compared with other, nonrespiratory chronic health conditions. The third model compared COPD with asthma, including indicator variables for COPD, other chronic health conditions, and no chronic health conditions (referent group = asthma). We used the Bonferroni method to calculate 95% confidence intervals corrected for multiple comparisons. In all logistic regression models, we controlled for demographic and personal characteristics that have been shown to confound the relationship between chronic respiratory health condition and health status. These variables included age, sex, race (non-Hispanic White vs others), smoking status (current and ex-smoking), educational attainment, and low income. Because employment status directly influences income, we excluded income from logistic models evaluating employment variables. To calculate population attributable risk percentage (etiologic fraction) for selected health status measures, we used the following expression for adjusted risk estimates: PAR% = (OR 1/OR) x Pc, where PAR% is the population attributable risk percentage, Pc is the proportion of cases exposed to the risk factor (e.g., asthma, COPD, or other chronic health conditions), and OR is the odds ratio for asthma or COPD.41
Demographic and Personal Characteristics A substantial proportion of the general population sample reported either asthma (7.8%), COPD (4.5%), or other, nonrespiratory chronic health conditions (45.9%) (Table 1
Impact on Health Status of Asthma and COPD Compared With No Chronic Health Conditions Table 2
Compared with adults with no chronic health conditions, those with COPD or asthma had a greater risk of diminished physical health status after demographic characteristics and smoking were controlled (Table 2
Respondents with COPD or asthma also had worse mental health status than persons with no chronic health conditions (Table 2
Impact on Health Status of Asthma and COPD Compared With Other Chronic Health Conditions
Influence of Asthma and COPD on Employment Status Among respondents of usual employment age (1864 years), current employment status differed among the health condition groups (Table 4
After control for demographic characteristics and smoking, COPD was associated with a lower likelihood of current employment compared with no chronic health conditions (OR = 0.41) (Table 4
Among currently employed respondents, COPD (OR = 2.14; 95% CI = 0.87, 5.26) and other chronic conditions (OR = 1.38; 95% CI = 0.96, 1.97) were associated with recent job loss, although the confidence intervals did not exclude the possibility of no actual relationship (Table 4 We further examined the relative impact of COPD and asthma on health status, controlling for covariates. Compared with adults with other, nonrespiratory chronic health conditions, those with COPD were less likely to indicate current employment (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.28, 0.83). Respondents with COPD were also more likely to report perceived inability to work (OR = 3.34; 95% CI = 1.76, 6.33) and limitation in type or amount of work (OR = 2.75; 95% CI = 1.48, 5.12). When subjects with COPD were compared with those with asthma, COPD was also associated with lower current employment (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.27, 0.94), greater likelihood of perceived inability to work (OR = 3.53; 95% CI = 1.50, 8.31), and higher risk of perceived limitation in type or amount of work (OR = 2.78; 95% CI = 1.26, 6.12). Among adults with asthma, likelihood of current employment (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.65, 1.41) and perceived work limitations were similar to those of adults with other, nonrespiratory chronic health conditions.
Population Attributable Risk Percentage
Asthma and COPD are both associated with a major decrement in physical and mental health status and influence a broad range of functioning. Both conditions are associated with work disability, especially perceived limitation of work capacity. COPD, in particular, has a severe negative impact on health status and employment, whereas asthma has effects similar to those of other nonrespiratory chronic health conditions. These conclusions persist after demographic and personal characteristics that affect health and employment status are controlled. Previous studies have evaluated the health status of patients with asthma27 and COPD.1723 Although these studies did suggest that asthma and COPD are associated with impaired health status, they were conducted with subjects recruited from clinical settings. As a result, they probably sampled subjects with more severe disease; thus, their findings may not generalize to adults with asthma or COPD in the general population. In addition, these studies did not elucidate the health status decrement specifically attributable to asthma or COPD, compared with that related to having a chronic health condition more generally. We addressed these issues by using a population-based sample of adults with asthma or COPD and including 2 general population referent groups, one with other chronic health conditions and one with no chronic conditions. Furthermore, we controlled for the effects of age, smoking, and other important determinants of health status. Although subjects reported physician-diagnosed asthma or COPD, we cannot exclude some misclassification of respiratory condition. Because this was a survey-based investigation, we had no direct measure of pulmonary function. In survey-based research, there is no fully satisfactory method for addressing the potential overlap between asthma and COPD.42 Moreover, adults with asthma can also have concomitant chronic bronchitis or emphysema.43 As in previous epidemiological surveys,30 our approach was to define asthma as excluding subjects who also reported emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or other chronic lung disease to reduce misclassification with smoking-related obstructive lung disease. We reasoned that respondents who reported both asthma and COPD would more closely resemble persons with COPD alone than those with asthma alone, a hypothesis that was confirmed by analysis of demographic characteristics and smoking history. When we repeated key analyses excluding subjects who reported both asthma and COPD, there was no change in our study conclusions (data not shown). Because this study was cross-sectional, we cannot clearly define the causal pathway in all cases. As a consequence, measures of association (e.g., odds ratio) and population impact (e.g., population attributable risk percentage) could be influenced by noncausal factors or reverse causality. For example, lack of physical activity could increase the risk of developing asthma.44 In most cases, however, the impact of chronic health conditions on health status seems clear. It appears likely that COPD or asthma causes depressive symptoms, poor general health, or worse employment status, rather than the reverse. Demographic and personal characteristics are powerful determinants of health status and employment. For example, older age and lower educational attainment are both independently associated with worse health status and lower rates of employment.10,31,45,46 As a consequence, these factors have the potential to confound the relationship between asthma or COPD and health status. Although we controlled for these variables in multivariate models, we cannot exclude residual confounding. The relatively low survey completion rate could have introduced selection bias. In the present study, the prevalence of current smoking (18.9%) is similar to that reported in California (19.2%).47 Similarly, the observed prevalence of asthma (7.8%) is similar to that in California (7.1%).48 The prevalence of COPD in the present study (4.5%) is also similar to that in a general sample of US adults (5%).1 On the basis of these findings, nonresponse probably did not significantly bias the observed relationship between the 4 health condition groups and health status. Asthma and COPD, the most common obstructive lung diseases, are associated with substantial health status impairment and work disability. Adults with COPD are most severely affected, whereas persons with asthma experience effects similar to those of persons with other chronic health conditions. Our data indicate that nearly 1 in 5 cases of both diminished general health and depression can be attributed to obstructive lung disease. Moreover, about 1 in 17 cases of current nonparticipation in the labor force can be attributed to COPD or asthma. For the stakeholders in health care for asthma and COPD, including clinicians, health insurers, and policymakers, these results suggest that current clinical care of these disorders is inadequate to prevent health status impairment and disability. The current clinical focus on respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function should be expanded to include assessment and prevention of the diverse negative effects of these conditions on health status and employment.
This study was supported by a grant from the California Wellness Foundation and by grants K23 HL04201 (M. D. Eisner) and K04 HL03225 (P. D. Blanc) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.
Human Participant Protection
Peer Reviewed M. D. Eisner conceived the analysis, analyzed the data, and wrote the article. E. H. Yelin conceived and designed the California Work and Health Study (CWHS). L. Trupin assisted with the study design for the CWHS and supervised implementation of the CWHS. Both E. H. Yelin and L. Trupin provided input into analysis and interpretation of data for this report and critical review of the article. P. D. Blanc provided input into data analysis and interpretation and contributed to the writing of the article. Accepted for publication November 6, 2001.
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