The prevalence of asthma in adult population of southwestern Iran and its association with chronic rhinosinusitis: a GA2LEN study

Abstract

Background Asthma is recognized as a major public health concern in the world. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the prevalence of asthma by using the Global Allergy and Asthma Network of Excellence (GA 2 LEN) questionnaire and examine its association with chronic rhinosinusitis, in the province of Bushehr, Southwestern of Iran. Methods In a cross-sectional, population-based study, a total of 5420 invited individuals, aged 15–65, were selected through a multi-stage, stratified, cluster random sampling and from which 5201 completed the GA 2 LEN questionnaire (response rate = 95.9%). The prevalence of asthma, current, and physician-diagnosed asthma were analyzed by using sex and age groups and the association of asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) was investigated using a multiple logistic regression model. Results Based on the information from the GA 2 LEN questionnaire, the overall prevalence of asthma in the population under study was 10.0% (95% CI 9.2–10.8). Moreover, the prevalence of current asthma was 8.9% (95% CI 8.1–9.7). Further, the prevalence of current early, late-onset and physician-diagnosed asthma within the asthma group was 51.1% (95% CI 46.5–55.7), 48.9% (95% CI 44.3–53.5) and 3.9% (95% CI 2.1–2.5), respectively. Additionally, CRS was more frequent among the participants with asthma [(57.3%, OR = 2.3; 95% CI 2.1–2.5)], and there was a significant association between CRS and current, early and late-onset of asthma (P < 0.001; OR = 4.4, 3.2 and 6, respectively). Conclusion This large population study conducted in the southwestern part of Iran suggests that the prevalence of asthma is high. Moreover, the result of this study showed a strong association of asthma with CRS; also after adjusting for sex, age, educational level, and smoking.

Real‐life assessment of chronic rhinosinusitis patients using mobile technology: The mySinusitisCoach project by EUFOREA

“…We show here that 32.2% patients reported a physician‐based diagnosis of asthma. This proportion of patients corresponds with previous studies evaluating the prevalence of asthma in CRS patients in tertiary centres, 8 but is higher than a recent report showing concomitant asthma in 16.3% of CRS patients in a population‐based study 18 . The higher proportion of patients with late‐onset compared to early‐onset asthma in our cohort confirms previous studies 7 .…”

“…A considerable amount of literature has been published demonstrating an association between asthma and CRS, especially with the CRSwNP phenotype 7,8,18 . We show here that 32.2% patients reported a physician‐based diagnosis of asthma.…”

Association of chronic rhinosinusitis with bronchial asthma and its severity

“…Previous studies have reported that CRS is closely associated with the incidence of BA. [ 2 , 14 , 15 ] Chung et al demonstrated that the odds ratio of patients with CRS was significantly higher than those without CRS. And CRS had an increased prevalence of various comorbidities, where asthma ranked first.…”

“…[ 2 ] What is more, according to Ostovar et al, 57.3% of subjects with asthma reported having CRS, which indicated that there was an association between CRS and asthma. [ 15 ] For the relationship between CRS and the severity of asthma, Matsuno et al only demonstrated a significant correlation between the asthma severity and sinus morphologic abnormalities in patients with and without sinusitis, which cannot prove sinus disease could directly affect the intensity of asthma. [ 16 ] Similarly, the CT findings of Bresciani study suggested that CRS was not related to the severity of asthma.…”

Highlights and recent developments in allergic diseases in EAACI journals (2019)

“…Further studies based on more comprehensive disease features are required to identify asthma phenotypes in population-based studies. In Southwestern Iran, a study assessed using the GA 2 LEN questionnaire showed that the current prevalence of asthma in adult population is 8.9% and asthma is often associated with chronic rhinosinusitis [ 38 ].…”