Assessing the Frequency and Risk Factors of Asthma in School Children of Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Asthma is one of the common chronic respiratory diseases in children worldwide which is more prevalent with urbanization in many low or middle-income countries including Pakistan. In the times of rapid urbanisation and more exposure to environmental pollutants, there is dearth of data regarding region-specific prevalence of asthma, risk factors and possible associated factors in school going children. To estimate the prevalence of asthma among 5-17-year-old school going children in Islamabad, and its associated environmental, genetic and socio-demographic risk factor. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 333 children in the schools of Islamabad who were assessed for asthma. Data was obtained through a structured questionnaire adopted from ISAAC protocol. Asthma was characterized by wheezing and doctor diagnosed disease. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and correlation were conducted in SPSS. The study reveals a noticeable high prevalence of lifetime wheeze, doctor'sdiagnosis of asthma among patients.Significant multivariate predictors of asthma included household smoking, maternal smoking during pregnancy, indoor dampness/mold, excess dust, and living near traffic/industry, exposure to seasonal pollen/dust, having a parental history of asthmaand parental consanguinity. This study showed high association of demographic, environmental and genetic factors with asthma. The findings call for immediate public health interventions focusing on smoke-free homes, improved indoor air quality, pollution control and enhanced awareness and management of asthma in urban Islamabad, Pakistan.