Alamer Faisal, Almuzaini Ahmed S, Alharbi Sami, Algoblan Marya, Alayed Faisal, Alsaqri Rayan A, Alsweed Yazeed S
College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, SAU.
Internal Medicine and Pulmonology, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Buraydah, SAU.
Cureus. 2024 Jan 30;16(1):e53229. doi: 10.7759/cureus.53229. eCollection 2024 Jan.
Asthma is a major non-communicable disease affecting both children and adults and is the most common chronic disease among children. It has a significant effect on patient's daily lives, as well as a big economic impact on society, as it affects 262 million people of the population globally. According to the previous research conducted in the Aseer region in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the prevalence rate of bronchial asthma was found to be 19.2%. Also, a number of studies revealed a significant prevalence of asthma in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is simple and effective to measure specific asthma symptoms among the adult population by utilizing the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) criteria.
To investigate asthma prevalence and measure asthma symptoms among Saudi adults in Qassim, Saudi Arabia using the ECRHS.
This cross-sectional study targets the males and females living in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted by handing out a validated, self-administered questionnaire among adult male and female patients in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Both descriptive and inferential statistics analyses were conducted. To test the association, both chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were carried out. For the test, a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The study involved 461 participants who met the inclusion criteria. The study found that 137 (29.9%) participants reported having tightness in their chests when they woke up. Among the respondents who reported these symptoms were 83 (60.1%) female and 55 (39.9%) male respondents. This shows a statistically significant difference between the gender and severity of chest tightness upon waking up (p = 0.008) with more females experiencing it than the male gender. More so, there was a statistically significant difference between the gender and severity of shortness of breath (p = 0.008), with more females (81, 60.4%) having the symptoms than the male gender (53, 39.6%). In addition, the study results reveal statistically significant gender differences among the patients who were diagnosed with asthma by the physician (p = 0.003), with more males (51, 65.4%) having been diagnosed than the female gender (27, 34.6%). Asthma attacks in the 12 months (p = 0.047) and the use of tobacco products (p = 0.001) were also found to have a statistically significant difference across the genders. This was shown by most males (26, 65.0%) who had asthma attacks in the 12 months and 70 (98.6%) who smoked any tobacco products than the few females (14, 35.0%) who reported to have had asthma attacks in the 12 months and one (1.4%) who reported smoking any tobacco products.
This study noted that the prevalence of asthma symptoms varied based on the gender of the participants. Therefore, the study suggests that gender should be taken as an important factor while evaluating the severity and how asthma-related symptoms manifest.
哮喘是一种影响儿童和成人的主要非传染性疾病，是儿童中最常见的慢性病。它对患者的日常生活有重大影响，对社会也有巨大的经济影响，因为全球有2.62亿人受其影响。根据此前在沙特阿拉伯西南部阿西尔地区进行的研究，发现支气管哮喘的患病率为19.2%。此外，多项研究表明沙特阿拉伯哮喘患病率很高。因此，利用欧洲共同体呼吸健康调查（ECRHS）标准来测量成年人群中的特定哮喘症状既简单又有效。
使用ECRHS调查沙特阿拉伯卡西姆地区沙特成年人的哮喘患病率并测量哮喘症状。
这项横断面研究的对象是居住在沙特阿拉伯卡西姆地区的男性和女性。该研究通过向沙特阿拉伯卡西姆地区的成年男性和女性患者发放一份经过验证的自填问卷来进行。进行了描述性和推断性统计分析。为检验关联性，进行了卡方检验和费舍尔精确检验。对于检验，p值小于0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
该研究纳入了461名符合纳入标准的参与者。研究发现，137名（29.9%）参与者报告醒来时有胸部发紧的情况。在报告这些症状的受访者中，女性有83名（60.1%），男性有55名（39.9%）。这表明醒来时胸部发紧的性别与严重程度之间存在统计学显著差异（p = 0.008），女性比男性更常出现这种情况。此外，呼吸急促的性别与严重程度之间也存在统计学显著差异（p = 0.008），出现症状的女性（81名，60.4%）比男性（53名，39.6%）更多。此外，研究结果显示，在被医生诊断为哮喘的患者中存在统计学显著的性别差异（p = 0.003），被诊断出的男性（51名，65.4%）比女性（27名，34.6%）更多。还发现12个月内的哮喘发作（p = 0.047）和烟草制品的使用（p = 0.001）在不同性别之间也存在统计学显著差异。这表现为在12个月内有哮喘发作的男性居多（26名，65.0%），吸烟草制品的男性有70名（98.6%），而报告在12个月内有哮喘发作的女性较少（14名，35.0%），报告吸烟草制品的女性有1名（1.4%）。
本研究指出哮喘症状的患病率因参与者的性别而异。因此，该研究表明在评估严重程度以及哮喘相关症状如何表现时，应将性别作为一个重要因素。
