New tool to assess asthma-related anxiety

When children or adolescents with asthma and their parents become overly anxious about the disorder, it may impair their ability to manage the asthma effectively. A new, effective tool to assess asthma-related anxiety is described in an article in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online.

A high level of disease-related anxiety among adults with asthma has been associated with an overreaction to asthma symptoms and overuse of medication. To assess asthma-related anxiety among pediatric patients and their parents, a team of researchers from New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, NYU, and LaSalle University (Philadelphia, PA) developed and validated a survey tool. Jean-Marie Bruzzese, PhD, Lynne Unikel, PhD, Patrick Shrout, PhD, and Rachel Klein, PhD, tested their Youth Asthma-related Anxiety Scale (YAAS) and Parent Asthma-related Anxiety Scale (PAAS) on a population of adolescents and their parents. The results highlight two key factors—anxiety about asthma severity and about disease-related restrictions- that are good indicators of overall asthma-related anxiety. The authors describe the design and utility of the YAAS and PAAS in the article, "Youth and Parent Versions of the Asthma-related Anxiety Scale: Development and Initial Testing."

"This will be a valuable tool for asthma researchers," says Harold Farber, MD, MSPH, Editor of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Pulmonology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. "Now that we have validated measures for asthma-related anxiety in children and their parents, future research will be able to measure the impact of asthma-related anxiety on asthma outcomes. This will help us better understand how to deliver the best asthma care for our children."

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Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology is a quarterly journal published in print and online. The Journal has expanded its coverage to synthesize the pulmonary, allergy, and immunology communities in the advancement of the respiratory health of children. The Journal provides comprehensive coverage to further the understanding, and optimize the treatment, of some of the most common and costly chronic illnesses in children. It includes original translational, clinical and epidemiologic research, public health, quality improvement, and case control studies, patient education research, and the latest research and standards of care for functional and genetic immune deficiencies and interstitial lung diseases. Tables of contents and a free sample issue may be viewed online.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery and Population Health Management. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at our website.