This research project of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America was made possible with support from AstraZeneca.
It’s obvious that asthma affects your health. But how does it impact other areas of your life? The results of our My Life With Asthma online survey showed us how severe asthma can affect relationships, emotions and activities.
The study looked at two groups:
- People with “severe uncontrolled” asthma (Group A)
- People with “not severe uncontrolled” asthma (Group B)
Impact on Personal Relationships
Asthma doesn’t just affect the person who has it. Parents, spouses, coworkers and caregivers can feel its negative impact. The effects of severe uncontrolled asthma reach much further than its effects on health.
Our report showed that most people with severe asthma felt it affected their personal relationships. As many as 64 percent of Group A reported that it affected their family relationships. And 55 percent said it had a negative impact on their relationships with their spouses or significant others and friends. Only 17 percent said the disease has no impact on their relationships.
In Group B, 38 percent said asthma had no effect on their relationships.
Impact on Activities
When it came to activities, Group A felt asthma had a much greater impact than Group B. In Group A, 40 percent said their everyday activities were extremely limited, compared to only 8 percent in Group B. Those in Group A also missed more work and school or had trouble with performance.
Impact on Emotions
When asthma affects your relationships and activity, it’s no surprise it can have an emotional impact. Both groups felt a range of negative emotions because of asthma. But Group A reported feeling these negative emotions the most. Some of the emotions included:
- Frustration
- Anxiety
- Annoyance
- Fear
- Depression
High numbers of those in Group B felt some of the same emotions but not as much as Group A.
When you have a chronic disease, you can feel its effects in every part of your life. The impact of asthma goes far beyond health. The My Life With Asthma report helps us highlight these effects so we can change conversations about asthma. And by changing conversations, we can offer better education and raise more awareness.
Read our summary of the My Life With Asthma survey results:
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