Agreement between current and active asthma classification methods, Asthma Call-back Survey, 2011–2012

Abstract

Objective: Various approaches have been developed to identify persons with asthma using survey data. To assess agreement between current and active asthma classifications, 2011–2012 Asthma Call-back Survey landline telephone household data from 38 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for adults aged ≥18 years who have ever been told by a health professional they have asthma were analyzed. Methods: Respondents were classified to have current asthma if they reported still having asthma, and active asthma if they reported within the past year: 1) talking to a doctor about asthma, 2) taking asthma medication, or 3) having any symptoms of asthma. Agreement between classifications was assessed using the Kappa statistic. Results: Among adults ever told by a health professional they have asthma, an estimated 72% had current asthma and 75% had active asthma. Overall, 67% of individuals met classifications of both current and active asthma and 20% had neither current nor active asthma (Kappa = 0.68). The Kappa increased to 0.72 when talking to a doctor about asthma was removed from the active asthma classification. Conclusions: Results indicated substantial agreement between current and active asthma. Agreement was strengthened when talking to a doctor about asthma was removed from the active asthma classification.

Keywords:

• Current asthma
• active asthma
• classification
• agreement
• BRFSS
• ACBS

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System state coordinators for their assistance in collecting the data used in this analysis. The authors also thank Dr. Carol Pierannunzi, Division of Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Patricia Schleiff, Respiratory Health Division, NIOSH, CDC, and Larry Layne, Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, CDC for helpful comments.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The findings and conclusion in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC or ASPPH.

Funding

This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 3U36OE000002 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).