Lifestyle factors and asthma in India - a case-control study

There has been a recent trend of increasing prevalence of asthma in developing countries; prevalence in the Indian population is reported to be 2%. The link between lifestyle factors and asthma has been mostly derived from western literature. The present study intended to study relationship if any, between life style factors and asthma in a representative Indian population.

The study is a case-control study performed for a period of one year, between 2014 and 2015. 125 asthma and correspondingly age and sex matched healthy controls were recruited for the purpose of study. A self-reported questionnaire has been prepared based on routine lifestyle habits of Indian population.

The hours of TV watching and hours of sleep were significantly higher in asthma patients, and also duration of sports activity showed inverse relation with asthma. Smoking, tobacco, chewing as well as alcohol consumption were higher in asthma patients in comparison to controls, though neither was statistically significant. The mental stress as assessed on scale of 1-10, was significantly higher in asthma patients (p < 0.001). Asthma patients had significantly lower travel duration/week (p < 0.05).

The present study concluded increased TV watching, increased mental stress, reduced hours of physical activity and travel may be correlated with asthma in India. With growing evidence of increasing association of asthma and sedentary lifestyle, it is imperative to reduce acquaintance to as well as incidence of these factors through public health policies, which may impact prevalence of asthma in Indian population.