• Anthony P Sunjaya, Leanne M Poulos, Gian Luca Di Tanna, Thomas Lung, Guy B Marks, Helen K Reddel, and Christine R Jenkins.
• The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, NSW.
• Med. J. Aust. 2024 Sep 16; 221 (6): 324332324-332.

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of breathlessness on quality of life, health care use, productivity loss, and economic costs in Australia.Study DesignNational internet-based survey of Australian adults drawn from a web-based survey panel (National Breathlessness Survey).Participants, SettingAustralian adults (18 years or older), nationally representative by age group, gender, state of residence, and postcode-based socio-economic status (Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage quintile), 13-30 October 2019.Main Outcome MeasuresQuality of life assessed with the EQ-5D 5-level version (EQ-5D-5L) and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), health care use, productivity loss, and societal cost, each by severity of breathlessness (modified Medical Research Council [mMRC] dyspnoea scale; mMRC grade 1: mild breathlessness; mMRC grades 2-4: clinically important breathlessness).ResultsOf 10 072 adults who completed the survey, mild breathlessness was reported by 3044 respondents (30.2%), and clinically important breathlessness by 961 (9.5%). The mean EQ-VAS score was 74.8 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 74.3-75.3 points) and the mean EQ-5D-5L score 0.846 (95% CI, 0.841-0.850) for respondents with mMRC grade 0 breathlessness; for each measure, the mean value declined with increasing severity of breathlessness (trends: each P < 0.001). Respondents with clinically important breathlessness were more likely than those with mild breathlessness to report non-urgent general practitioner visits, urgent general practitioner visits, and specialist visits (exception: mMRC scores of 4) during the preceding year. Among the 2839 respondents of working age, the likelihood of being employed declined with increasing breathlessness severity (mMRC grades 4 v 1: adjusted odds ratio, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.22-0.53). Adjusted mean annual societal cost per person was $1413 (95% CI, $1326-1501) for respondents with mMRC grade 1 breathlessness, $2065 (95% CI, $1766-2365) at mMRC grade 2, $1795 (95% CI, $1371-2218) at mMRC grade 3, and $2075 (95% CI, $1389-2762) at mMRC grade 4.ConclusionBreathlessness imposes major burdens on individuals, the health care system, and the economy.© 2024 The Author(s). Medical Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AMPCo Pty Ltd.

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