Baseline Control and Management of First Year University Students‘ Asthma

Introduction: There is little known about changes in asthma control amongst students leaving home and starting university. Anecdotally, we are aware of a large number of university students who attend emergency departments with asthma exacerbations. We decided to prospectively study changes in asthma control amongst a group of first year university students. Methods: We recruited first year university students to an observational study in order to ascertain their baseline asthma control and factors that may influence changes in asthma control. Ethical approval was granted for students to be interviewed regarding their asthma and to complete an Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-6). Results: 50 students participated in the study (mean age 19 (Range 17 to 26)). 82% reported suboptimal asthma control in the preceding year and 48% had poor control when screened (ACQ-6>1). 76% were aware of three or more asthma triggers. 28% of participants were smokers and 16% had self-reported anxiety/ depression. 48% had an asthma review in the past 6 months but only 30% had a written action plan. 82% brought their asthma medication to university and registered with a local GP. 50% were on British Thoracic Society treatment step 2, 10% on step 3 and 4% on step 4. A third (36%) were not prescribed inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) despite needing their reliever inhaler more than three times a week. Participants on BTS step 4 had poorer control. Conclusion: This observational study shows that half of asthmatic first year university students had poorly controlled asthma. Management was suboptimal. We plan to follow up on these students’ progress at the end of their first year.