Objectives: Asthma is a frequent and serious chronic respiratory disease which is sometimes fatal. It involves all ages and all social subclasses. The goal of our study was to determine the demography of asthma in a low socio-economic community in Lebanon and to describe its association with various epidemiologic factors.
Materials and methods: The computerized data of 44.814 patients of a nongovernmental organization (Hariri Foundation), in Lebanon were reviewed. Asthmatic patients diagnosed by a health professional on the basis of medical criteria during the period from January 2003 to June 2005 were included in the analysis. The socio-economic characteristics of this population were retrieved and their geographical distributions were depicted. The study focused on the association of asthma with cutaneous and ocular allergies, depression, obesity and alcohol consumption.
Results: The majority of asthmatic patients (75%) belonged to a low socio-economic environment with a salary lower than $200 per month. 31% were illiterate. 583 (1.3%) of patients on the database were asthmatic. The rate in children was higher (2.08%) than in adults (1.09%). The majority of asthma occurred among subjects from Bekaa valley and South Lebanon. Asthma was associated more strongly with being an ex-smoker (OR 4.37; 95% CI 2.38, 8.02) than being a current smoker (OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.11, 1.87). A significant and strong association was found with depression (OR 25.6; 95% CI 3.32, 197.6), obesity (OR 4.09, 95% CI 1.31, 12.73) and with regular alcohol consumption (OR 11.78; 95% CI 1.55, 89.44).
Conclusion: This study describes the association of asthma in this population with low socio-economic status. By defining the demographic characteristics of the asthma population the Ministry of Health and the medical organizations concerned should be better able to manage the condition. This study confirms, in a Lebanese population, the epidemiological associations described in other populations around the world.