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.

摘要：研究目的：评估巴西成年人群（年龄≥18岁）经医学诊断的哮喘患病率。研究方法：本研究依托2013年全国健康调查（National Health Survey, NHS）开展横断面人群研究，采用三阶段整群抽样设计，依次抽取普查小区、住户及个体作为抽样单元。研究计算了受访对象报告的“经医学确诊哮喘”结局的患病率及95%置信区间，并按人口学特征、社会经济变量、国家宏观区域及城乡地域进行分布分析。此外，本研究还对报告罹患经医学诊断哮喘的人群开展疾病管理情况评估，所有分析均进行加权处理。研究结果：共完成60202名成年人的访谈。经医学诊断的哮喘患病率为4.4%（95%CI 4.1~4.7），且在女性、白人、受教育程度较高人群以及巴西南部地区人群中患病率更高。在报告确诊哮喘的人群中，近12个月内哮喘急性发作比例较高，约80%的患者使用哮喘药物治疗，约15%的患者自述日常活动受到严重限制。研究结论：尽管与其他同类研究相比，巴西国内哮喘诊断患病率似乎保持稳定，但仍需出台公共政策以优化哮喘疾病管理。