Objective: To assess the quality of life (QoL) of asthmatic adolescents and its association with asthma severity, chronic diseases, and life style.
Method: Cross-sectional study involving 210 female and male asthmatic adolescents between 12 and 21 years old. The Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, a self-administered instrument, was used. Explanatory variables were: allergic diseases, use of medication, passive smoking, occupational status, asthma severity, and life style. The analyses considered the dichotomous outcome (good/poor QoL) based on the mean scores. Generalized linear models (log-binomial) were used to calculate the crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR).
Results: Forty-six per cent of the girls and 57% of the boys had poor QoL. There was no correlation between chronic diseases and poor QoL. Low educational level, use of medication, passive smoking, and occupational factors had a statistically significant association (p < 0.05) with poor QoL. The adjusted analysis showed that severe asthma (PR = 1.53; 95%CI 1.12-2.11), use of medication (PR = 1.58; 95%CI 1.09-2.28), having asthma diagnosis established less than 5 years ago (PR = 1.30; 95%CI 0.97-1.86), passive smoking (PR = 1.38; 95%CI 1.35-2.00), and being employed (PR = 1.30; 95%CI 0.96-1.74) were associated with poor QoL.
Conclusion: A multidisciplinary team needs to face the challenge of providing good QoL with the purpose of making these patients better adapted to society and to their own needs.