Evaluation and application of the Work-Related Asthma Screening Questionnaire-Long version (WRASQ[L])

Auteurs

Madison A. MacKinnon, Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada; Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Taylar Wall, Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada; Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Alison Morra, Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada; Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Teresa To, The Hospital for Sick Children, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Chronic Disease and Pharmacotherapy Research Program, ICES, Toronto, ON, Canada
Catherine Lemiere, Department of Chest Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
M. Diane Lougheed, Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada; Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada; Chronic Disease and Pharmacotherapy Research Program, ICES, Toronto, ON, Canada

Type de document

Études primaires

Année de publication

2025

Langue

Anglais

Titre de la revue

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Practice

Première page

320

Dernière page

327

Résumé

Background

The Work-related Asthma (WRA) Screening Questionnaire—Long Version (WRASQ(L)) is a screening questionnaire that could improve the recognition of WRA.

Objective

To conduct a definitive evaluation of the WRASQ(L) to justify its implementation in clinical settings.

Methods

Employed adults aged 18 to 75 years with asthma confirmed by objective measures and the ability to take time off work were eligible. Participants completed the WRASQ(L) and then monitored their peak expiratory flow at and away from work or completed a specific inhalation challenge test. Data were classified as WRA or non-WRA by 2 asthma specialists, blinded to WRASQ(L) answers. Sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively), and Youden’s index were calculated for cutoffs of a positive screen.

Results

Of 106 participants (47.1 ± 7.1 years [mean ± standard deviation]; 60 [57%] female), 14 (17%) were classified as having WRA and were significantly younger in age than non-WRA participants (P = .043). The questionnaire has high SN and NPV (90.9% and 93.1%, respectively) but low PPV and SP (32.1% and 26.0%, respectively).

Conclusions

The WRASQ(L) has high SN and NPV. High SN is of primary interest to ensure that few false-negative screens are missed and those with potential WRA are identified and continue to specialist care. The SN indicates utility of the questionnaire in clinical settings. Further benefits of the tool include its potential to prompt education on the symptom-workplace relationship, workplace exposures, personal protective equipment use, and collect exposure and occupational history.

Mots-clés

Asthme, Asthma, Affection respiratoire, Respiratory disease, Diagnostic précoce, Early diagnosis, Épreuve fonctionnelle respiratoire, Respiratory function test, Enquête par questionnaire, Questionnaire survey

Numéro de projet IRSST

n/a

Citation recommandée

MacKinnon, M. A., Wall, T., Morra, A., To, T., Lemiere, C. et Lougheed, M. D. (2025). Evaluation and application of the Work-Related Asthma Screening Questionnaire-Long version (WRASQ[L]). The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Practice, 13(2), 320-327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2024.10.012