The role of economic and educational factors in asthma: Evidence from the Portuguese Health Survey

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2008

Authors

Pedro Moreira (Author) FCNAUP; Andrl Moreira (Author) FMUP; Patricia Padrao (Author) Other; Luis Delgado (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Public Health

Vol. 122

Pages: 434-439

ISSN: 0033-3506

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 9 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 11 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Health sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-004-0QF

DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2007.07.014

Abstract (EN): Objective: To evaluate the importance of economic and educational factors in determining the risk of asthma in adults. Study design and methods: This was a cross-sectional study in a representative sample of Portuguese adults (20,977 females and 18,663 mates) from the main regions of mainland Portugal. Participants were categorized according to years of education (<= 4, 5-9, 10-12 and > 12 years) and income (<= 314, 315-547, 548-815 and > 815 Euros/month). Information on asthma was based on answers to the following question: 'Have you had asthma in the previous year?' Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the magnitude of the association between asthma and education/income, adjusting for confounders (body mass index, age, smoking habits, physical activity, area of residence, number of household members and income/education). Results: In females and mates, the odds of having asthma decreased with increasing income (P-value for trend <0.001), with odds ratios of 0.52 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.41-0.66] and 0.55 (95%CI 0.44-0.68) for those with a monthly income > 815 Euros compared with those with a monthly income <= 314 Euros, respectively. For both genders, the odds of having asthma were not significantly associated with years of education. Conclusion: A significant positive association between per capita national income and asthma reinforces that public policy should stress the importance of economic growth as a means for preventing asthma occurrence and improving quality of life.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 6