Prevalence of self-reported asthma in type 1 diabetes children and its associated predictors

Asthma is considered one of the most common and serious noncommunicable diseases, with high morbidity and mortality rates in both children and adults.

To estimate the frequency and to determine the associated factors of self-reported asthma among children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

A cross-sectional study design was employed, and 175 subjects having type 1 diabetes for more than 1 year were included from the pediatrics endocrine clinic. Validated questionnaires from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) were used for data collection. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23.0.

The study included 175 participants (48% boys, 52% girls) with a mean age of 10.9 ± 3.76 years. The majority were of high socioeconomic status, that is, with a monthly family income >15,000 Saudi Riyal (SR) . Notably, 78 participants (44.6%) were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (2-5 years' duration, and the average age at diagnosis was 7.4 ± 3.27 years). Hospital admissions due to diabetes in the past year were reported in 101 (57.7%) patients. Moreover, 143 (81.7%) participants reported hyperglycemic symptoms, while 125 (71.4%) experienced hypoglycemic symptoms. About 36 (20.6%) participants had self-reported asthma, with wheezing reported in 46 (26.3%) participants. Other sociodemographic and diabetes factors showed no significant associations. The prevalence of self-reported asthma was noted in 36 children with type 1 diabetes (20.6%). The presence of a family history of asthma was the only significant variable associated with self-reported asthma in children with type 1 diabetes (p<0.001). The odds of developing asthma increased by almost 11 times among children with type 1 diabetes who had a positive family history of asthma (p=0.002). Middle-income status also showed increased odds of risk for developing asthma by 4.4 times, but it did not reach the level of statistical significance (p=0.21).

A higher prevalence of self-reported asthma was found among children with type 1 diabetes. Those with a family history of asthma may be considered for screening and educational programs.