[The quality of life in a Tunisian population of asthmatic patients]

Asthma is a chronic disease which disturb patient's quality of life (QL). The aim of our study is to evaluate the QL of 110 asthmatics patients aged from 18 to 70 years and the relationship between the QL and the severity of their asthma. We have used the "Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire" translated in our arabic language and adapted to our tunisian environment. The asthmatic women was more affected then the asthmatic men at the environment dimension particularly when there were exposed to pollens, strong smells and perfumes (t < 0.003). QL was not influenced by age, disease's length and the education's level of the patients. Nevertheless, QL is more altered when asthma is more severe (p < 0.0005) and corticosteroids improve the QL for all the dimensions except the environment.