Childhood asthma control in Japan: A nationwide, cross-sectional, web-based survey.

BACKGROUND: Recent surveys have shown that many patients with asthma experience uncontrolled symptoms and decreased quality of life due to their disease. However, few large population-based studies have evaluated asthma control in Japanese children.

OBJECTIVE: To show the reality of asthma control and the pattern of asthma controller medication use among Japanese children.

METHODS: In 2012, a web-based survey was conducted to identify children aged 6 to 11 years with asthma in Japan. Among children with current asthma, we collected information regarding their asthma controller medication use and evaluated the control level of asthma using the Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT). In this study, a C-ACT score of 19 or less, 20 to 22 and over 22 were classified as uncontrolled asthma, well-controlled asthma, and optimally controlled asthma, respectively.

RESULTS: Among the 3,033 children with current asthma, 442 (14.6%), 635 (20.9%), and 1,956 (64.5%) children had uncontrolled, well-controlled, and optimally controlled disease, respectively. In the past 1 month, 1,387 (45.7%) reported receiving at least 1 asthma controller medication with 638 (21.0%) reported receiving inhaled corticosteroid. Among the children with uncontrolled asthma, 67 (15.2%) were not receiving any asthma controller mediations. Among children receiving asthma controller medication, 27.0%, 31.4% and 41.5% had uncontrolled, well-controlled, and optimally controlled asthma, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Although more than half of children with current asthma had optimally controlled disease, some children without any controller medications and more than a quarter of the children receiving asthma controller medications had uncontrolled disease.