Adult asthma in Greece: prevalence, comorbidities, and risk factors

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INTRODUCTION: Asthma still represents a crucial public health challenge with significant health consequences. The study aims to estimate the prevalence of physician-diagnosed self-reported asthma in Greece and to unravel comorbid conditions and risk factors. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The HYDRIA survey was the first national project on the health of the population in Greece. Data regarding demographic, lifestyle characteristics, and medical history were recorded through personal interviews from June 2013 to December 2014. Weighting factors were applied to ensure national representativeness of results. RESULTS: The study includes 4011 men and women. The estimated prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma was 8.6% (95% CI: 7.5-9.8%). The most frequent comorbidity was allergic rhinitis, reaching a prevalence of 47.3%. Individuals with asthma reported a significantly higher percentage of perceived restrictions in daily activities (p-value < 0.001). They presented double the risk of having restrictions [2.04 (95% CI: 1.52-2.74); p-value < 0.001]. Age and atopy were significant predictors, however, an interaction indicated that the effect of atopy decreases with age (p for interaction = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: The estimated prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma in Greece is 8.6%. Atopy, especially in young age, and age represent risk factors for asthma. Patients with asthma experience double the risk of having restrictions on daily activities compared to individuals without asthma.

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