Prevalence of asthma symptoms among the adult population in the city of Mashhad (north-east of Iran).

OBJECTIVE

Although there is evidence of worldwide variation in the prevalence of asthma, the prevalence of asthma in adult populations in Iran is not known.

METHODS

We studied the prevalence of asthma symptoms among the adult population (aged 20 years and over) in the city of Mashhad using a questionnaire. A total of 5579 subjects, comprising 2835 males and 2744 females, were interviewed by trained medical students. The following were used as asthma symptoms in the questionnaire: recurrent wheeze, recurrent cough or tightness at rest, night cough and wheeze or cough during exercise. Subjects with two symptoms or who had been previously diagnosed with asthma were considered as having asthma.

RESULTS

The results showed that 158 subjects (2.8%), comprising 69 males (2.4%) and 89 females (3.2%), had asthma. The proportion of subjects with a family history of asthma (40.5%), a history of allergy (43.7%) and a smoking habit (24.5%) was significantly higher than in normal subjects. Of the subjects determined to have asthma, 120 (76%) had been previously diagnosed as having asthma and were under treatment. However, only 65 subjects (41.1%) were currently under treatment.

CONCLUSION

These results suggested a 2.8% prevalence of asthma among the adult population in the city of Mashhad, most of whom had been previously diagnosed and were under treatment.