Epidemiology of asthma and associated factors in an urban Pakistani population: adult asthma study-Karachi

Abstract

BackgroundThis study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of asthma and associated risk factors in the adult population of Karachi, Pakistan.MethodsThis multi-stage, cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 2014–August 2015; comprising 1629 adults in 75 randomly selected clusters in Karachi, Pakistan. Definitions included: ‘self-reported asthma’, ‘reversibility in FEV1’ and ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV1’.ResultsPrevalence of asthma was 1.8% (self-reported) (95% CI: 1.0–2.6), 11.3% (reversibility in FEV1) (95% CI: 9.4–13.3) and 6.6% (symptoms and reversibility in FEV1) (95% CI: 5.1–8.1). Asthmatics were more likely to belong to the age group ≥38 years according to ‘reversibility in FEV1’ and ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV1’ (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.2–3.3) and (AOR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.1–4.2), respectively. Asthmatics were more likely to report history of allergies (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.2–2.9) and (AOR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.7–4.8); and were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (AOR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1–2.5) and (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1–3.3) according to ‘reversibility in FEV1’ and ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV1’, respectively. Asthmatics were more likely to report pack years of smoking ≥5 (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1–4.7) according to ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV1’.ConclusionThis study reports a high prevalence of asthma among Pakistani adults and calls for developing appropriate public health policies for prevention and control of asthma in the country. Further studies should be conducted to determine the national prevalence as well as follow-up studies to identify preventable causes for adult asthma.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12890-018-0753-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Factors influencing bronchial asthma exacerbations with special emphasis on inhaler usage

“…5 Razzaq S et al, found that the risk of exacerbations of bronchial asthma was 1.9 times more among those aged >38 years of age. 6 Kang HR et al, also observed similar finding that exacerbations of bronchial asthma episodes were significantly more among those aged more than 45 years. 7 Smith K et al, also noted in their study that elderly were at more risk of exacerbations of bronchial asthma.…”

“…10 Razzaq S et al, this risk was 1.9 times more among those with history of allergies. 6 Anto JM et al, this risk was 1.98 times more among those having nasal allergy. 11 But we did not find this association as significant.…”

How Do Out-of-Pocket Expenditures Affect Healthcare: A Qualitative Insight of Acute Exacerbation among Asthma Patients

“…It is estimated an increment of 33% or 400 million people will be affected by 2025 [4]. In Pakistan, according to a report on the global burden of asthma, the prevalence is 4.3% and in rural areas, it is quite high [5]. Asthma's risk factors include inhaling asthma "triggers", for example, allergens, physiological conditions, tobacco smoke, and certain medications [6].…”

“…Compared to other chronic diseases, asthma has a relatively low fatality rate therefore asthma has become an economic burden that influences the quality of life of the patients [5][6][7]. It is essential to understand the cost of asthma per episode of exacerbation to effectively use the current asthma medication resources, and to identify where the burden occurs and learn to achieve optimal cost-effectiveness [4][5][6][7]. The economic evaluation of a disease can lay the basis for precise healthcare decisions that can influence financial resources more effectively toward the management of that disease [7].…”

Role of Montelukast as Monotherapy in Improving Quality of Life of an Asthmatic Patient in Pakistan

“…Studies have suggested that high-income countries of the world have more people suffering from asthma than in average or low-income countries [3]. The report on global burden of asthma estimated the prevalence of asthma in Pakistan to be 4.3% [4]. Despite being quite common, it is not adequately being managed, leading to low Quality of Life (QOL) and early death.…”