The epidemiology of asthma in adults. An insight

Abstract

Background: Asthma is a chronic disease with a great impact on public health and on the patients' quality of life. In Latin America, there are scarce epidemiological studies. Objective: To describe the prevalence of asthma and the clinical-demographic characteristics in an adult population from a private health system in the City of Buenos Aires. Methods: A cross-sectional study of adults who were enrolled in the medical program of a private health system in Buenos Aires between January 1st, 2017, and January 1st, 2018. All the patients that were included in the study had been diagnosed with asthma. Results: The prevalence of asthma in the adult patients of a prepaid health system in the City of Buenos Aires was of 6 % (n = 66, IC 95 % = 5-7), and the prevalence of severe asthma among the same group was of 5 % (n = 3, IC 95 % = 1-13). Most patients had intermittent and mild asthma. Conclusion: This study provides new data about the epidemiology of asthma in the region.