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Background


Although several epidemiological studies of asthma have been carried out in Ecuador in the last two decades, none of these has estimated the prevalence of asthma in adult populations.


Objective


To estimate the prevalence of asthma symptoms in adults in the city of Quito and to identify possible associated factors.


Methods


A cross-sectional study was carried out on subjects older than 18 years residing in the Metropolitan District of Quito. The Global Asthma Network (GAN) questionnaire was applied to collect information on asthma symptoms and sociodemographic and lifestyle data. Bivariate and multivariate analyses with logistic regression were used to identify asthma-associated factors.


Results


2,476 subjects answered the questionnaire (80.9% women, mean age 40 years). The prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months, asthma ever, and asthma diagnosed by a doctor were 6.3%, 1.9% and 1.6%, respectively. The prevalence of rhinitis and eczema was 13.7% and 5.5%. The presence of mould at home (OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.48-3.06; p <0.001), cat at home (OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.06-2.13; p <0.022) and rhinitis at some time (OR: 3.65; 95% CI: 2.53-5.29; p <0.022) were associated with the presence of wheezing in the last 12 months.


Conclusions


Our study shows that, compared to other cities in Latin America, the prevalence of asthma in adults in Quito is relatively low. Along with the presence of rhinitis, factors related to housing quality are closely linked to the occurrence of asthma in adult populations.

Angelita Cabrera, 1 Universidad Central del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Quito, Ecuador. 2 Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.

orcid_id14.png https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4507-5519

César Picado, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, España. Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, España. 4 Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES). Madrid, España

orcid_id14.png https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7400-4993

Sergio Barba, Centro Médico Axxis, Quito, Ecuador

orcid_id14.png https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4308-0798

 

Oscar Fonseca, Ross University School of Medicine, Barbados

orcid_id14.png https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5971-6586

 

Eduardo Castro, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Quito, Ecuador

orcid_id14.png https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9360-3374

 

Luis García-Marcos, University of Murcia, Arrixaca University Children’s Hospital, Respiratory and Allergy Units, Murcia, España, Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), Murcia - Spain. Carlos III Health Institute, Network of Asthma, and Adverse and Allergy Reactions (ARADyAL) Network, Madrid, España,

orcid_id14.png https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0925-3851

 

Alejandro Rodríguez, Universidad Internacional del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Salud y la Vida, Quito, Ecuador

orcid_id14.png https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1867-0331

Cabrera, A., Picado, C., Barba, S., Fonseca, O., Castro, E., García-Marcos, L., & Rodríguez, A. (2023). Prevalence and associated factors for asthma in adults in Quito: a cross-sectional study. Colombia Medica, 53(2), e2025086. https://doi.org/10.25100/cm.v53i2.5086 (Original work published July 19, 2022)

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Received 2021-10-27
Accepted 2022-04-24
Published 2023-05-04