1. Asthma prevalence among adults in Saudi Arabia.
- Author
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Al Ghobain MO, Algazlan SS, and Oreibi TM
- Subjects
- Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Prevalence, Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal epidemiology, Saudi Arabia epidemiology, Young Adult, Asthma epidemiology, Respiratory Sounds
- Abstract
Objectives: To investigate asthma prevalence and to measure asthma symptoms among Saudi adults in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia., Methods: A cross-sectional survey using the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS)questionnaire carried out between April and June 2016, among male and female Saudi nationals aged 20-44 years living in Riyadh. Disproportionate cluster sampling method was used. Asthma was defined based on answering "yes" to any of the following: Have you had wheezing when you did not have a cold in the last 12 months? Have you been told by a physician to have asthma? Are you taking medicine for asthma?, Results: A total of 2,405 participants completed the survey. The prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months when not having a cold was 18.2% with no significant difference between males and females (p=0.107). The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 11.3% with no significant difference between males and females (p=0.239). The prevalence of taking medicine for asthma was 10.6%. There were no significant differences between asthmatic vs. non-asthmatic in terms of residency area (p=0.07), education level (p=0.11) and smoking tobacco (p=0.06). However, significant differences found between asthmatic and non-asthmatic in relation to nasal allergies (p less than 0.001)., Conclusion: Asthma prevalence is high and much higher than the prevalence reported in most countries using the ECRHS questionnaire.
- Published
- 2018
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