Page 150 - Comprehensive treatment of patients with glucocorticoid-dependent severe asthma

Chapter 9
Association between adherence and costs related to health care events
Table 3 shows the association between adherence to the internet strategy and costs associated with the medical consumption during the 6 months of study, corrected for gender, age and ACQ score at baseline. There was a significant, inverse association between the level of adherence and costs related to general practitioner (b=-0.46, p=0.003), asthma nurse (b=-0.55, p=0.004) and chest physician consultations (b=
-0.41, p=0.03) and a trend for the association with emergency events (b=-0.37, p=0.05). Based on these consistent associations the overall costs of medical consumption dropped significantly with increasing adherence levels (b=-0.39, p=0.03) (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Associations between degree of adherence and medical consumption 4500
3500 2500 1500
500
40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Adherence to internet system (%)
Legend figure 3. This figure shows the association between medical consumption in Euros and adherence to the internet monitoring strategy.
Table 3. Associations between level of adherence and medical consumption
Categories of medical consumption
General practitioner Asthma nurse
Chest physicians Severe exacerbations Total costs
b p value
-0.46 0.003 -0.55 0.004 -0.41 0.03 -0.37 0.05 -0.39 0.03
95.0% CI for b
Footnote table 3: Regression analysis adjusted for sex, age and asthma control
148
r=-0.39 p=0.03
-274.7 to
-328.4 to
-784.9 to
-5490.9 to -119.2 -5995.1 to -354.7
scores at baseline
-61.2 -70.0 -45.7
Total costs in 6 months (Euros)