Frequency of Asthma among students of Army Medical College

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of asthma among students of a medical college. Study Design: Cross sectional Survey Duration of Study: 15 February 2010 - March 15, 2010 Materials and Methods: A questionnaire based, descriptive survey was conducted, survey using European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) forms among students of Army Medical College from Feb 15- March 15, 2010. A subject was labeled as positive if he or she met one or more of the criteria mentioned in the form. Positive subjects from survey were called for Digital Spirometry by a trained technician. Those having FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 75% and PEFR of less than 80% were labeled as being Obstructive pulmonary disease positive. Results: ECRHS forms were distributed to 996 students of Army Medical College. The age ranged between 18-24 years. Response rate was 824/996 (82.7%), among which 371(45%) were males and 453(55%) females. Male to female ratio was 0.8:1. 144 (17.4%) students qualified for second stage for having one of the signs/symptoms of asthma. Out of 144, only 127 (15.4%) took part in secondary stage mainly due to dropping out and having respiratory tract infections. The most common symptom noted was awakening nocturnal cough (31.5%), while wheezing and nasal allergies were almost equal (17.8% and 18.2% respectively). 13.2% and 10.74% subjects documented tightness of chest and shortness of breath respectively. Only 7 subjects were known asthmatics. 76 (9.2%) were labeled as positive and 51 (6.1%) negative based on Digital spirometry. From these figures, male prevalence came out to be 6.29% (23), female 12.02% (53) and overall 9.2 % (76). Conclusion: The frequency of Asthma was 9.2% among the student surveyed. Lack of awareness, fear of life-long treatment as well as blemish associated with the disease in our community are the key factors responsible for extremely low rate of diagnosed asthma in our study. Only mass public awareness can help overcome these factors, thereby leading to early detection and better treatment of asthma in Pakistan.