Assessment of asthma control and associated risk factors at jimma University medical center, jimma, south west ethiopia

Abstract

Background: -Asthma control is below the goal set by national guidelines in different parts of the world. Identifying the level of asthma control and risk factor for poor asthma control may greatly improve the quality of life and potentially lessens the financial burden of the disease. The level of asthma control and risk factors for uncontrolled asthma are rarely known in Ethiopia. Objective: - To assess the level of asthma control and identify risk factors associated with uncontrolled asthma among adult patients attending chest clinic of JUMC. Methods: - A facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted on 119 asthmatic patients attending the chest follow- up clinic of JUMC from September 01 to November 30, 2020. Asthma control was assessed using the ACT questionnaire. Data were entered into the computer by EpiData manager version 4.6 and exported to STATA version 16.0 for analysis. The potential factors associated with the outcome variable were tested using Chi-square test and P-value of < 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. The variables which were significant in a bivariate analysis at a cut point of P-value of < 0.05 were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Result: Of one hundred and nineteen (119) included in the study 77 (64.7%) of asthmatic clients have uncontrolled asthma. A multivariate analysis showed that having co- morbidities like gastroeosophageal reflux disease and allergic rhinitis ( AOR= .056 95% C.I 0. 010-0.324, p = 0.001 ), frequent asthma exacerbation ( AOR = 0.022, 95% C.I 0.002- 0.195, P = 0.001 ) and low level of adherence to treatment ( AOR=0.010- 95% C.I 0.001-0.090, p = 0.001 ) were found to be significant factors associated with uncontrolled asthma. Conclusion: Large proportions of asthmatic clients have uncontrolled level of asthma. Commodities like GERD and allergic rhinitis, level of adherence to treatment and frequent asthma exacerbation were associated with uncontrolled level of asthma. Further large- scale study should be conducted to identify determinants of the uncontrolled level of asthma.