Smoking makes asthma expensive: a register-based study in Finland
SETTING: Chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/emphysema occur frequently among middle-aged and elderly asthma patients who smoke.OBJECTIVE: To test how much this comorbidity increases the use and costs of health services in comparison with asthma alone.DESIGN: A sample...
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Published in | The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 11; no. 12; pp. 1358 - 1365 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Paris, France
IUATLD
01.12.2007
Union internationale contre la tuberculose et les maladies respiratoires |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | SETTING: Chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/emphysema occur frequently among middle-aged and elderly asthma patients who smoke.OBJECTIVE: To test how much this comorbidity increases the use and costs of health services in comparison with asthma alone.DESIGN:
A sample of 6000 adults with a clinical diagnosis of asthma was extracted from a nationwide health insurance register for a postal inquiry. Comorbidity and the use of health services were measured using a questionnaire. Data on medication expenses were obtained from the national prescription
register.RESULTS: Altogether 4956 individuals replied, of whom 3160 asthma patients aged ≥40 years (response rate 85%) were chosen for this investigation. Asthma patients with COPD/emphysema (12% of the series) accounted for 21% of all doctor consultations, 39% of the total number of
hospital in-patient days and 27% of the total expenses, of which one third were medication costs. The mean annual gross expenditure on treatment services and anti-asthma medications was €754 per patient for those with asthma alone and €2107 for those with concurrent COPD/emphysema.
Current smoking further increased costs among COPD patients.CONCLUSION: To prevent pulmonary comorbidity and the related high costs, cessation of smoking should be an integral part of the treatment provided for asthma patients. |
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Bibliography: | 1027-3719(20071201)11:12L.1358;1- (R) Medicine - General ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1027-3719 1815-7920 |