Improving asthma management and enhancing quality of life for adults in Thailand

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the association between asthma control and quality of life among Thai asthmatic adults in Thailand. More than eighty percent of deaths from asthma disease occur in low- and middle income countries without proper treatment and care, which is mainly related to quality of life. This study conducted a cross-sectional study on asthma patients aged between 18 to 55 years (N = 114) recruited by random sampling methods at Phrapokklao Hospital (Thailand). Self-administered questionnaires, including general characteristic questionnaire, asthma control test, Thai Perceived Stress Scale, and Thai Mini AQLQ questionnaire, were used to collect the data. Logistic regression models were used to identify the relationship between independent variables and quality of life. The result found that most asthma patients (34.2%) were classified as having uncontrolled symptoms. About 81.5% of asthma patients were defined as having moderate (score 14-26) to high stress (score 27-40). The mean score of QoL suggested by the asthma patients in this study was good QoL (score = 88.58). Moreover, this study found a significant positive relationship between asthma control and QoL in all dimensions (rs = 0.584, ρ < 0.001). The linear regression model presented the association between asthma control and quality of life after adjusted age (years), gender (male/female), education (elementary to secondary, higher secondary school), medical use (yes/no), and stress (low stress, moderate to high stress). This study confirms the correlation between asthma control and quality of life (β= 2.12, ρ < 0.001).