Asthma prevalence among medical students of jazan university, saudi arabia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Both adults and children experience bronchial asthma, which is the most common chronic respiratory condition. The prevalence of asthma varies widely by geography and age, with its prevalence ranging from 0.2 to 21.0% in adults. However, there are no data on the prevalence of asthma among adults in the Jazan Region, which is located in the southern part of Saudi Arabia. Objective To assess the prevalence of asthma among medical students in Jazan University, Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the prevalence of asthma was determined using a modified and translated International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. Adult students of health-related colleges at Jazan University constituted the target population in the region. Results There were 1210 responders, which included 654 (54.0%) males and 556 (46.0%) females. In total, 761 (62.9%) students (35.3% men) resided in rural areas, whereas 449 (37.1%) students resided in urban areas. Additionally, 20.2% of students experienced life-long wheezing. During the previous 12 months, 218 (18%) and 191 (15.8%) students experienced exercise-induced wheezing and nonexercise-induced wheezing, respectively. Furthermore, 188 (15.5%) students had a medical history of asthma, and the prevalence of asthma did not differ significantly between males and females (P=0.412). A physician confirmed that 13.7% of the participants had asthma. Conclusion Our results demonstrated a high frequency of asthma among the medical students of Jazan University in the Jazan Region. Asthma diagnosis was predicted using an identifiable questionnaire and without using physiological measures and laboratory factors.