The frequency of asthma and its related factors: results of the enrolment phase of Tabari cohort study

Abstract

Introduction

A large portion of the world’s population has asthma. This study aimed to ascertain asthma prevalence and related factors in the Tabari cohort study (TCS).

Methods

The TCS included 10,255 35–70-year-olds from urban and mountainous Sari (northern Iran) between June 2015 and November 2017. Education, occupation, domicile, socioeconomic position, history of psychiatric disorders, smoking (including hookah smoking), opium usage, and daily physical activity level were determined.

Results

The final analysis included 9939 individuals. The asthma rate was 7.4%. Multiple factors increased asthma risk, according to statistical analysis. These factors included being female (OR, 1.337; 95% CI, 1.142–1.565), retired (OR, 1.553; 95% CI, 1.205–2.002), living in the city (OR, 1.268; 95% CI, 1.083–1.484), using opioids (OR, 1.689; 95% CI, 1.299–2.197), having lower socioeconomic status (SES) (OR, 0.723; 95% CI, 0.579–0.903), history of psychiatric disorders (OR, 2.313; 95% CI, 1.826–2.930), and aged 60–70 (OR, 2.325; 95% CI, 1.765–3.064), and BMI above 30 kg/m² (OR, 1.499; 95% CI, 1.220–1.841). Several factors increased asthma probability in multivariate regression analysis. These factors include being female (OR = 1.389, p = 0.015), ages between 60 and 70 (OR = 2.034, p < 0.001), using opioids (OR = 1.940, p < 0.001), lower SES (OR = 0.738, p = 0.012), history of psychiatric disorders (OR = 2.035, p < 0.001), BMI above 30 kg/m² (OR = 1.518, p < 0.001), and being a smoker (OR = 1.337, p = 0.056).

Conclusion

This study has identified that the prevalence of asthma in the Tabari cohort group is high. In addition, it was demonstrated that various factors are related to asthma.

Keywords:

• Asthma
• low- and middle-income countries
• risk factors
• prevalence

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by one percent budget credit of Iranian Ministry of Health and Research Deputy of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. We express our gratitude to the research deputies of both organizations, as well as to the PERSIAN-Tabari cohort study (TCS) team and staff members, and health volunteers of health centers in Sari, Kiasar, Zelemrudbar, and Telmadareh. The improvement of grammar and writing style in this article was aided by the use of Grammarly, an online writing assistance tool.

Author contributions

Seyed Sajjad Yousefi-Reykandeh: Conception and design of the research, drafting the manuscript, final approval of the manuscript. Mahmood Moosazadeh: Analysis and interpretation of results, final approval of the manuscript. Motahareh Kheradmand: Collection of data, drafting the manuscript, final approval of the manuscript. Amirsaeed Hosseini: Making intellectual contributions on text and revisions, final approval of the manuscript. Masoumeh Bagheri-Nesami: Study conception and design, drafting the manuscript, making intellectual contributions on text and revisions, final approval of the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

TCS supported by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education [Grant No. 700/534] and Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences [Grant No. 2524]. The funding body had no involvement in designing the study, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, or writing or publishing this manuscript.