ArticleBMJ open2013
'The blue one takes a battering' why do young adults with asthma overuse bronchodilator inhalers? A qualitative study.
Article in BMJ open, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of asthma patients towards the use of short-acting β2-agonists: A systematic review.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Worsening Asthma Outcomes in Australian Adults: A Comparison of Stratified Sample Surveys in 2012 and 2021.The Medical journal of Australia · 2026Article
- Optimising long-term management in acute asthma presentations to the emergency department: an interview study on patient beliefs.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Article
- Exploring the carbon footprint of severe asthma and change after biologic therapy initiation: an analysis of Northern Irish data.ERJ open research · 2025Article
- Article
- The Reliever Reliance Test: evaluating a new tool to address SABA over-reliance.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2024Article
- The Wiser Strategy of Using Beta-Agonists in Asthma: Mechanisms and Rationales.Allergy, asthma & immunology research · 2024Review
- Effects of Framed Mobile Messages on Beliefs, Intentions, Adherence, and Asthma Control: A Randomized Trial.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Evaluating the Feasibility of a Community Pharmacy-Delivered Behaviour Change Intervention to Reduce Reliever Reliance in Asthma.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Development and validation of the BMQ-AIRFrontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Uncovering the Burden of Rhinitis in Patients Purchasing Nonprescription Short-Acting β-Agonist (SABA) in the Community.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Reducing short-acting beta-agonist overprescribing in asthma: lessons from a quality-improvement prescribing project in East London.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022Article
- Clarifying SABA overuse: Translating Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines into clinical practice.Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology : official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2022Article
- Asthma Control and Medication Reliance Among Asthmatics in a General Practice Setting - A Questionnaire Based Study.Cureus · 2022Article
- Stigma from medication use: an under recognised burden of care.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2021Review
- Article
- Effective Asthma Management: Is It Time to Let the AIR out of SABA?Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Understanding reliever overuse in patients purchasing over-the-counter short-acting betaBMJ open · 2019Observational
- Assessment of Self-Stigma, Self-Esteem, and Asthma Control: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study Among Adult Asthmatic Patients in Selangor, Malaysia.Frontiers in public health · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveOveruse of short-acting bronchodilators is internationally recognised as a marker of poor asthma control, high healthcare use and increased risk of asthma death. Young adults with asthma commonly overuse short-acting bronchodilators. We sought to determine the reasons for overuse of bronchodilator inhalers in a sample of young adults with asthma.
designQualitative study using a purposive extreme case sample.
settingA large urban UK general practice.
participantsTwenty-one adults with moderate asthma, aged 20-32 years. Twelve were high users of short-acting bronchodilators, nine were low users.
resultsAsthma had a major impact on respondents' lives, disrupting their childhood, family life and career opportunities. High users of short-acting bronchodilators had adapted poorly to having asthma and expressed anger at the restrictions they experienced. Overuse made sense to them: short-acting bronchodilators were a rapid, effective, cheap 'quick-fix' for asthma symptoms. High users had poorer control of asthma and held explanatory models of asthma which emphasised short-term relief via bronchodilation over prevention. Both high and low users held strong views about having to pay for asthma medication, with costs cited as a reason for not purchasing anti-inflammatory inhalers.
conclusionsYoung adults who were high users of short-acting bronchodilators had adapted poorly to having asthma and had poor asthma control. They gave coherent reasons for overuse. Strategies that might address high bronchodilator use in young adults include improving education to help young people accept and adapt to their illness, reducing stigmatisation and providing free asthma medication to encourage the use of anti-inflammatory inhalers.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.