About the Authors

Aziz Sheikh

Aziz.sheikh@ed.ac.uk

Affiliation Allergy & Respiratory Research Group, Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Laila Halani

Affiliation Allergy & Respiratory Research Group, Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Raj Bhopal

Affiliation Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Gopalakrishnan Netuveli

Affiliation Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

Martyn R. Partridge

Affiliation National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

Josip Car

Affiliation Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

Chris Griffiths

Affiliation Medical Research Council (MRC)-Asthma UK Centre for Allergic Mechanisms in Asthma, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, United Kingdom

Mark Levy

Affiliation Allergy & Respiratory Research Group, Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Competing Interests

ML has accepted sponsorship from GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Trinity-Cheisi, Merck Sharpe and Dohme, Merck, Altana Pharma, Novartis, Meda Pharmaceuticals, Schering Plough, and Bohringer Ingelheim for attending conferences. He has accepted lecture fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, and Alk-Abello. He has been on advisory boards or provided consultancy for Schering Plough, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Glaxo SmithKline, Trinity-Cheisi, Altana Pharma, Ranbaxy, AstraZeneca, 3M Pharmaceuticals, and Novartis.

Author Contributions

ICMJE criteria for authorship read and met: AS LH RB GN MP JC CG ML. Agree with the manuscript's results and conclusions: AS LH RB GN MP JC CG ML. Designed the experiments/the study: AS RB JC CG. Analyzed the data: AS LH JC CG. Collected data/did experiments for the study: AS LH. Enrolled patients: AS LH MP ML. Wrote the first draft of the paper: LH. Contributed to the writing of the paper: AS LH RB GN MP JC CG ML. Helped interpret the findings: RB. Contributed to study design and operation: MP. Participated in one of the focus groups and checked transcript of the session: ML.