BRONCHIAL ASTHMA IN GERIATRIC POPULATION OF ARAR, NORTHERN SAUDI ARABIA: REVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS

Old age is not a disease in itself, but the elderly are vulnerable to long term diseases. Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in Saudi Arabia, affecting more than 2 million Saudis. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), asthma ranks 19th in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and 26th in deaths. There are reports on its increasing pattern in KSA.There are very few studies on the prevalence of asthma in elderly in the Northern region of Saudi Arabia.Aim of the study: To study the demographic profile of elderly and to estimate the prevalence of self reported,previously diagnosed bronchial asthma and its determinants among the elderly population of Arar city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Subjects and methods: This community based cross sectional study was conducted in Arar city, the capital of Northern Borders Governorate. Personal interviews with the 138 sampled elderly and filling the questionnaire, which guided us to the data of socio-demographic characteristics and bronchial asthma and its determinants. Results: characteristics of the sample showed that mean age (± SD) was 70 (±9.25) years, male to female ratio was 47.8 to 52.3, married were 62.3 while 33.3 were widow, illiteracy constitutes 54.2%, primary school literates were 23.9% and total of 91.3% had less than secondary education.. The overall prevalence of bronchial asthma among studied elderly population was 14.4%. Current smoker were only 7.2%, 23.9% were ex-smokers while the majority (68.8%) were non smokers. Diabetics were 37% and 45.7% were obese. There is significant effect of smoking (P<0.05), but no significant effect of age, sex, diabetes millets or obesity on the occurrence of bronchial asthma among the studied elderly population (P>0.05).Conclusion and recommendations: In conclusion, bronchial asthma is a common health problems in elderly population in Arar, KSA. There is significant effect of smoking (P<0.05), but no significant effect of age, sex, diabetes millets or obesity on the occurrence of bronchial asthma. Health education curative and preventive programs is highly needed to protect and treat those vulnerable group.