| Reference code: | PT/FB/BL-2018-220.06 |
| Location: | BF-GMS
|
Title:
| Illness expectations and asthma symptoms: A 6-month longitudinal study
|
| Publication year: | 2025
|
URL:
| https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70285
|
| Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
Background: After receiving a diagnosis, individuals often develop expectations about how their condition will evolve. This cognitive framework, known as 'Illness Expectations' (IEs), encompasses future-oriented beliefs regarding the course of the illness and its symptoms. In chronic conditions such as asthma, IEs may play a critical role in shaping patient-reported outcomes and clinical markers of disease progression. This study aims to empirically evaluate the impact of IEs on asthma symptoms and respiratory function.
Methods: A cohort of 310 individuals diagnosed with asthma was followed over a 6-month period, with three assessment points. Asthma control was measured using the Asthma Control Test (ACT), while respiratory function was evaluated through forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) using spirometry. IEs were assessed using the validated 'Illness Expectation Test' (IET), which captures both explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) expectations. Predictive analyses were conducted using latent growth modelling and linear regression to examine the influence of IEs on asthma symptoms and respiratory function over time.
Results: People with more negative explicit IEs about their asthma reported worse symptoms over time (ß = -0.50, SE = 0.21, p = 0.01). Implicit IEs were not statistically significant (ß = -0.014, SE = 0.008, p = 0.09). Explicit IEs about symptom progression were also associated with changes in lung function, with more negative expectations predicting greater declines in respiratory performance (ß = 0.51, SE = 0.11, p = 0.001).
Conclusions: These findings suggest that IEs may be meaningfully associated with asthma outcomes, highlighting their potential relevance in understanding patient experiences and symptom perception. These results support further research into interventions targeting cognitive frameworks, with the aim of informing more personalised, patient-centred approaches to asthma management.
|
| Accessibility: | Document exists in file
|
Language:
| eng
|
Author:
| Volpato, E.
|
Secondary author(s):
| Poletti, V., Banfi, P., Bonanomi, A., Pagnini, F.
|
Document type:
| Article
|
Number of reproductions:
| 3
|
Reference:
| Volpato, E., Poletti, V., Banfi, P., Bonanomi, A., & Pagnini, F. (2025). Illness expectations and asthma symptoms: A 6-month longitudinal study. Health Expectations, 28(3), e70285. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70285
|
| 2-year Impact Factor: | 3.2|2024
|
| Impact factor notes: | Impact factor not available yet for 2025
|
| Times cited: | 0|2025-09-27
|
| Indexed document: | Yes
|
| Quartile: | Q1
|
| Keywords: | Adherence / Asthma / Beliefs / Illness expectations / Mind-body connection
|
Illness expectations and asthma symptoms: A 6-month longitudinal study |