Australian Population and Migration Research Centre publications

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Browsing Australian Population and Migration Research Centre publications by Author "Appleton, S."

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    Depression and obesity in adults with asthma: multiple comorbidities and management issues
    (Australasian Med Publ Co Ltd, 2010) Wilson, D.; Appleton, S.; Taylor, A.; Tucker, G.; Ruffin, R.; Wittert, G.; Hugo, G.; Goldney, R.; Findlay, C.; Adams, R.
    OBJECTIVE: To examine the comparative prevalence and distribution of obesity and psychological disturbance in the asthma and non-asthma populations, and to determine how these comorbidities are associated with physical functioning. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A South Australian population-representative study of 3175 adults who provided data on asthma, psychological morbidity, physical functioning, and body mass index. Bivariate and multivariate analyses identified how these comorbidities were distributed in asthma and non-asthma subpopulations, and the variance in physical functioning that they explained. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rates of obesity and psychological morbidity, and physical functioning scores in asthma and non-asthma populations. RESULTS: Men and women in the asthma population had similar prevalences of obesity (35.3% v 33.6%) and psychological morbidity (29.5% v 29.4%). When compared with non-asthma controls, both comorbidities were significantly higher only in men with asthma. The prevalence of psychological morbidity within different weight categories in the asthma population compared with non-asthma weight-category controls varied by sex. Physical functioning was lower in the asthma population than the non-asthma population (46.6 [95% CI, 45.9–47.3] v 48.8 [95% CI, 47.8–50.0]; P < 0.001), and psychological morbidity explained 22% of this variance. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological morbidity and obesity are common in people with asthma. The sex-specific variation in psychological morbidity across weight categories suggests that future studies of psychological morbidity in groups with asthma should adopt designs that consider sex-specific controls rather than comparisons between the sexes.
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    Prevalence of asthma and asthma action plans in South Australia: population surveys from 1990 to 2001
    (Australasian Med Publ Co Ltd, 2003) Wilson, D.; Adams, R.; Appleton, S.; Hugo, G.; Wilkinson, D.; Hiller, J.; Ryan, P.; Cheek, J.; Ruffin, R.
    OBJECTIVES: To assess trends in the prevalence of self-reported doctor-diagnosed asthma, associated asthma related morbidity, and the uptake of written asthma action plans in South Australia, 1990–2001. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Surveys by telephone interview of the South Australian population between 1990 and 2001, and interview of participants in their own homes by trained health interviewers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Asthma prevalence, percentage of patients with written action plans, and asthma associated morbidity. RESULTS: The reported prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma has increased from 8% (95% CI, 6.4%–9.6%) in 1990 to 12.8% (95% CI, 11.4%–14.2%) in 2001. Morbidity, as measured by wakening at night (daily or weekly) and days lost from normal activities because of asthma, has remained constant over the decade. The percentage of patients with written asthma action plans increased to a peak of 42.3% (95% CI, 40.3%–44.3%) in 1995, but then declined to 22.2% (95% CI, 20.7%–23.7%) in 2001. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of asthma has increased while morbidity has remained constant, indicating that the burden of asthma has increased. The associated decline in the percentage of patients with asthma action plans in recent years is cause for concern.