Role and Frequency of Asthma Risk Factors in Triggering the Asthmatic Attack: A Cross-Sectional Study from Pakistan

Background: There is a growing interest in the attempts, made to understand what the asthma risk factors are and their frequency in triggering asthma attacks. Methods: Retrospective study was conducted. Community and hospital based cross-sectional study was performed between February 2015 and June 2015 in Bahawalpur region. 341 patients were approached using systemic sampling technique while only 209 patients were willing to participate in the study. Survey questionnaire consisted of three parts including, demographic information, triggering risk factors, and use of precautionary measures. Summarization of data was accomplished by descriptive statistics. Complete analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Out of 209, 109 (52.1%) were males and 100 (47.9%) were females with the overall average mean age ± SD of 22.29 ± 13.49 years. Dust factor being the leading cause that triggers the asthmatic attack in 93.3% (195) patients followed by pollution 80.3% (168), seasonal factors 64.6% (135), smoking 49.7% (104), cold air 34% (71), occupational chemicals 18.6% (39), pet animals 16.3% (34), stress 9.5% (20), cockroaches 8.1% (17) and the least affecting factor was medicine use affecting 2.9% (6). Furthermore only 46 (22%) patients used precautionary measures and confirmed its effectiveness in preventing the asthmatic attack when they were exposed to the risk factors. Out of 192 who were prescribed with the inhaler only 59.3% patient can use inhaler effectively and 88.5% keep it with them while traveling to prevent the worsening of asthmatic attack. Conclusion: Asthma is not a lethal disease but can prove fatal by slackness. Evasion of risk factor is the prime act in asthma care. The use of the precautionary measures was proved to be of immense significance in preventing asthma. The use of inhalers was also prescribed but many patients were unable to use them appropriately leading to their therapeutic failure.