Socioeconomic disparities and chronic respiratory diseases in Thailand: The National Socioeconomics Survey

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to determine the association between socioeconomic determinants and Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRDs) in Thailand. The data were used from the National Socioeconomics Survey (NSS), a cross-sectional study conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), in 2010 and 2012. The survey used stratified two-stage sampling to select a nationally representative sample to respond to a structured questionnaire. A total of 17,040 and 16,905 individuals in 2010 and 2012, respectively, were included in this analysis. Multiple logistic regressions were used to identify the association between socioeconomic factors while controlling for other covariates.

The prevalence of CRDs was 3.81% and 2.79% in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The bivariate analysis indicated that gender, family size, geographic location, fuels used for cooking and smoking were significantly associated with CRDs in 2010, whereas education, family size, occupation, region, geographic location, and smoking were significantly associated with CRDs in 2012. Both in 2010 and 2012, the multiple logistic regression indicated that the odds of having CRDs were significantly higher among those who lived in urban areas, females, those aged ≥41–50 or ≥61 yr old, and smokers when controlling for other covariates. However, fuels used for cooking, wood and gas, are associated with CRDs in 2010.

KEYWORDS:

• Chronic respiratory diseases
• disparity
• National Socioeconomics Survey
• socioeconomics
• Thailand

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to all of the contributors to this research, especially the National Statistical Office for the data and the Research and Training Center for Enhancing Quality of Life for Working Age People for the financial support.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflict of interests.