Prevalence of asthma medical diagnosis among Brazilian adults: National Health Survey, 2013

ABSTRACT:

Objective:

To estimate the prevalence of asthma medical diagnosis among the adult Brazilian population (aged ≥ 18 years).

Methods:

This is a cross-sectional, population-based study from the 2013 National Health Survey (NHS); it is a sampling cluster process with three stages of selection: census tracts, households, and individuals. The prevalence and 95% confidence interval for the outcome "asthma medical diagnosis" reported by the interviewed subjects were calculated, besides its distribution according to demographic and socioeconomic variables, macroregions, and urban or rural area of the country. Management of the disease was also evaluated among those who reported asthma medical diagnosis and the analyses were weighted.

Results:

A total of 60,202 adults were interviewed. The prevalence of asthma medical diagnosis was 4.4% (95%CI 4.1 - 4.7), and it was higher among the female subjects, the white skin-colored subjects, those with higher educational level, and those who lived in the south of Brazil. Among those who reported asthma medical diagnosis, a high percentage of asthma attacks were seen in the last 12 months, with around 80% using medication and about 15% referring severe limitation to their daily activities.

Conclusions:

Although it seems there is asthma diagnosis stability in the country when compared with other researches, we still need public policies for improving the disease management.

Keywords:
Asthma; Diagnosis; Prevalence; Health surveys; Chronic disease; Cross-sectional studies.