TY - JOUR
T1 - The health and economic burden of breathlessness, Australia, 2019
T2 - a national survey
AU - Sunjaya, Anthony P.
AU - Poulos, Leanne M.
AU - Di Tanna, Gian Luca
AU - Lung, Thomas
AU - Marks, Guy B.
AU - Reddel, Helen K.
AU - Jenkins, Christine R.
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2024 Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2024/9/16
Y1 - 2024/9/16
N2 - Objective: To examine the impact of breathlessness on quality of life, health care use, productivity loss, and economic costs in Australia. Study design: National internet-based survey of Australian adults drawn from a web-based survey panel (National Breathlessness Survey). Participants, setting: Australian adults (18 years or older), nationally representative by age group, gender, state of residence, and postcode-based socio-economic status (Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage quintile), 13–30 October 2019. Main outcome measures: Quality of life assessed with the EQ-5D 5-level version (EQ-5D-5L) and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), health care use, productivity loss, and societal cost, each by severity of breathlessness (modified Medical Research Council [mMRC] dyspnoea scale; mMRC grade 1: mild breathlessness; mMRC grades 2–4: clinically important breathlessness). Results: Of 10 072 adults who completed the survey, mild breathlessness was reported by 3044 respondents (30.2%), and clinically important breathlessness by 961 (9.5%). The mean EQ-VAS score was 74.8 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 74.3–75.3 points) and the mean EQ-5D-5L score 0.846 (95% CI, 0.841–0.850) for respondents with mMRC grade 0 breathlessness; for each measure, the mean value declined with increasing severity of breathlessness (trends: each P < 0.001). Respondents with clinically important breathlessness were more likely than those with mild breathlessness to report non-urgent general practitioner visits, urgent general practitioner visits, and specialist visits (exception: mMRC scores of 4) during the preceding year. Among the 2839 respondents of working age, the likelihood of being employed declined with increasing breathlessness severity (mMRC grades 4 v 1: adjusted odds ratio, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.22–0.53). Adjusted mean annual societal cost per person was $1413 (95% CI, $1326–1501) for respondents with mMRC grade 1 breathlessness, $2065 (95% CI, $1766–2365) at mMRC grade 2, $1795 (95% CI, $1371–2218) at mMRC grade 3, and $2075 (95% CI, $1389–2762) at mMRC grade 4. Conclusion: Breathlessness imposes major burdens on individuals, the health care system, and the economy.
AB - Objective: To examine the impact of breathlessness on quality of life, health care use, productivity loss, and economic costs in Australia. Study design: National internet-based survey of Australian adults drawn from a web-based survey panel (National Breathlessness Survey). Participants, setting: Australian adults (18 years or older), nationally representative by age group, gender, state of residence, and postcode-based socio-economic status (Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage quintile), 13–30 October 2019. Main outcome measures: Quality of life assessed with the EQ-5D 5-level version (EQ-5D-5L) and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), health care use, productivity loss, and societal cost, each by severity of breathlessness (modified Medical Research Council [mMRC] dyspnoea scale; mMRC grade 1: mild breathlessness; mMRC grades 2–4: clinically important breathlessness). Results: Of 10 072 adults who completed the survey, mild breathlessness was reported by 3044 respondents (30.2%), and clinically important breathlessness by 961 (9.5%). The mean EQ-VAS score was 74.8 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 74.3–75.3 points) and the mean EQ-5D-5L score 0.846 (95% CI, 0.841–0.850) for respondents with mMRC grade 0 breathlessness; for each measure, the mean value declined with increasing severity of breathlessness (trends: each P < 0.001). Respondents with clinically important breathlessness were more likely than those with mild breathlessness to report non-urgent general practitioner visits, urgent general practitioner visits, and specialist visits (exception: mMRC scores of 4) during the preceding year. Among the 2839 respondents of working age, the likelihood of being employed declined with increasing breathlessness severity (mMRC grades 4 v 1: adjusted odds ratio, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.22–0.53). Adjusted mean annual societal cost per person was $1413 (95% CI, $1326–1501) for respondents with mMRC grade 1 breathlessness, $2065 (95% CI, $1766–2365) at mMRC grade 2, $1795 (95% CI, $1371–2218) at mMRC grade 3, and $2075 (95% CI, $1389–2762) at mMRC grade 4. Conclusion: Breathlessness imposes major burdens on individuals, the health care system, and the economy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202523223&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5694/mja2.52425
DO - 10.5694/mja2.52425
M3 - Article
C2 - 39193783
AN - SCOPUS:85202523223
SN - 0025-729X
VL - 221
SP - 324
EP - 332
JO - Medical Journal of Australia
JF - Medical Journal of Australia
IS - 6
ER -