Asthma control among adults in Saudi Arabia. Study of determinants

To explore the determinants of uncontrolled asthma in Saudi Arabia.

A consecutive series of adult asthma patients attending 3 pulmonary primary care clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a scheduled appointment were interviewed. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used.

The proportion of patients with uncontrolled asthma was 68.1% (177/260). Daily tobacco smoking or monthly household income less than 15,000 Saudi Arabian Riyals were associated with a 4.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.3-16.4) and 3.4 (95% CI=1.8-6.6) times increase in the odds of having uncontrolled asthma. Patients with less than a graduate degree (odds ratio [OR]=3.1; 95% CI=1.0-9.5) or patients who were unemployed, disabled, or too ill to work (OR=3.1; 95% CI=1.4-6.9) had poorer asthma control. Having heartburn during the past 4 weeks decreased the odds of asthma control by 2.5 (95% CI=1.3-4.9), and having chronic sinusitis during the past 4 weeks decreased the odds of asthma control by 2.0 (95% CI=1.0-4.0) times. Being female (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.0-4.0) or ≥35 years of age (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.0-3.9) was also associated with having uncontrolled asthma.

Our findings suggest that most respondents had uncontrolled asthma. Less modifiable socio-demographic factors (for example, income, education, occupation, gender, and age) significantly increased the odds of having uncontrolled asthma. However, modifiable risk factors such as tobacco smoking and clinical factors such as heartburn and chronic sinusitis could also be targeted for intervention.