Impact of asthma control on health related quality of life in Islamabad, Pakistan: A correlational study

Background: Asthma is a bronchial airways disease which is characterized by chronic inflammation and repetitive Asthma attacks. Quality of life is also affected by asthma control. Objective: The objective is to determine the correlation of the asthma control with the health-related quality of life in Asthma patients. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at N.I.H Islamabad and Federal General Hospital Islamabad. The asthmatic patients who had suffered from asthma for at least 6 months and were aged between 15-40 years, had received anti-asthmatic drugs and should have had residence at Islamabad/Rawalpindi were included. The subjects having cardiac, pulmonary or traumatic shortness of breath, any dermatological issues and those undergoing surgery were excluded from the study. The quality of life of asthmatic people was calculated using Urdu version of Mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). The study was spread over 6 months and 100 asthmatic patients, calculated through G-Power, were selected in the survey through convenience sampling. Spearman's correlation statistics on SPSS was used to find relation between health related quality of life and control on asthma Results: Out of total patients, 31% asthma patients had uncontrolled asthma and 63% had partially control asthma symptoms and only 6% with controlled asthma. The correlational value of r = 0.886 shows a strong relationship between control on asthma and quality of life. P<0.05 so relationship is strong and significant. Quality of Life was poorer when the asthma was uncontrolled (2.12± 0.36) and it was better (5.46±0.30) when asthma was controlled. Conclusion: The study concluded that the patient's with controlled asthma had better quality of life as compared to the patients with poor control on asthma symptoms. These asthmatic patients had poor quality of life in all domains of emotional, environmental and activity limitation.