How asthma symptoms are associated with the quality of life among LUHS students

Abstract

Introduction Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory illness that affects more than 300 millionpeople worldwide [1,2]. Symptoms are non-specific, but the most common ones include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough [3,4]. Difficulties with self- management are associated with reduced quality of life [5]. Aim To evaluate if asthma symptoms have association on quality of life among LUHS students. Methods The study was approved by the Kaunas regional biomedical research ethics committee (No. BEC-MF-335). There were 361 study participants aged between 19-41 who completed a self-administered anonymous questionnaire, which consisted of questions about gender, age, asthma symptoms and quality of life (5 questions: current wellbeing, restriction of daily activities, sleep disorders, fatigue during the day, emotional state). 24 (6.6%, p=<0,001, x2=271,38) of participants had a confirmed diagnosis of asthma. 337 (93,4%, p=<0,001, χ2 = 271,38) of participants had not confirmed diagnosis of asthma. Research objectives χ2 criteria was used. The results are statistically reliable when p<0.05. The statistical analysis was performed by using Microsoft Excel and statistical software SPSS 17.0. Results Among confirmed diagnosis of asthma, there was a statistical significance between the respondents who selected their well-being as bad(n=1, 4,2%),responders who picked their well-being as great(0%). Among those without allergic asthma, there were statistically significantly more respondents who rated their health as excellent(n=45, 13.4%) than as poor(1, 0,3%). […].