Asthma in Pediatrics: A Biopsychosocial Analysis of Factors Influencing Control in Northwest Mexico

Research Article

Austin Pediatr. 2017; 4(1): 1048.

Asthma in Pediatrics: A Biopsychosocial Analysis of Factors Influencing Control in Northwest Mexico

Ochoa MC1*, Ramirez-Leyva DH2, Ramirez- Enriquez FC3 and Valle-Leal JG1

1Department of Pediatrics, Regional General Hospital #1 (IMSS), Sonora Delegation, Sonora, Mexico

2Department of Family Medicine, Family Medicine Unit #1 (IMSS), Sonora Delegation, Sonora, Mexico

3Department of Allergy, Regional General Hospital #1 (IMSS), Sonora Delegation, Sonora, Mexico

*Corresponding author: Ochoa Maria Citlaly, Department of Pediatrics, Regional General Hospital #1 (IMSS), Sonora Delegation, Sonora, México

Received: December 08, 2016; Accepted: January 06, 2017; Published: January 09, 2017

Abstract

Background: Asthma is a chronic disorder of airways in which many factors play a major role. Chronic inflammation is associated with airway hyperresponsiveness that leads to recurrent episodes of wheezing, dyspnea, chest tightness and coughing. Asthma treatment requires a therapeutic intervention developed between doctor, patient and family.

Aim: So the purpose of this study is to determinate factors associated with asthma uncontrolled in pediatric patients in Northwest México.

Design and Setting: Comparative cross-sectional study.

Methods: In 116 pediatric patients with asthma in the Regional General Hospital #1, Cd. Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. There were two groups (controlled and uncontrolled) based on asthma control questionnaire (CAN) test results, surveys were conducted to obtain demographic, medical and family information; it was used 90% statistical power and 95% interval confidence; association was established by calculating odds ratios, chi-squared test for statistical significance (p<0.05) and logistic regression analysis.

Results: 69% were men, mean age 9.9 years (±2.6), mean points in CAN 6.9 (DE±5.0). The association between asthma uncontrolled and associated factors reported the following results: immunotherapy (OR=10.2, p<0.001), socioeconomic status (OR=9.5, p<0.001), pets (OR=7.2, p<0.001), therapeutic adherence (OR=6.3, p<0.001), nutritional status (OR=5.9, p<0.001 ), smoking (OR= 4.7, p<0.001), family functionality (OR=4.7, p<0.001), acute rhino sinusitis (OR=4.3, p=0.004), eosinophilia (OR=4.2, p<0.001), food allergens (OR=2.9, p=0.006) and gender (OR=2.7, p=0.016). However, to clarify the results, we submitted these 11 factors to logistic regression analysis, reporting only five variables as the main factors influencing uncontrolled asthma.

Conclusion: Immunotherapy and characteristics such as gender, socioeconomic status, adherence and comorbidities are key factors for asthma control in pediatric patients.

Keywords: Asthma; Pediatrics; CAN

Introduction

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways in which different immune and cellular elements are involved. Chronic bronchial inflammation is related to a hyperresponsiveness of the airways manifested by recurrent episodes of cough, dyspnea, wheezing and chest pain, particularly at night. These episodes are almost always accompanied by variable obstruction of pulmonary airflow that may be reversible spontaneously or with treatment [1]. It is estimated that asthma affects 300 million people worldwide. It is a serious global health problem, affecting all age groups, with an increasing prevalence in many developing countries, an increasing cost of treatment and a growing burden for patients, their families and society. Asthma represents a heavy burden on health care systems and society through loss of productivity at work, especially in the case of pediatric asthma with disruption of school and family life [2].

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood; it is a public health problem in several countries [3]. Overall, the prevalence of asthma in the population is 1% to 18%. In pediatric patients of Mexico, the prevalence of asthma fluctuates between 4.5% and 12.6%. In general, the annual incidence of asthma has been estimated to be 4.6 to 5.9 per 1,000 in women and 3.6 to 4.4 per 1,000 in men. According to WHO, the worldwide asthma mortality rate in 2001 was 3.73 per 100,000 inhabitants; In Mexico, the death rate in 2003 was 1.8 per 100 000 inhabitants [4].

Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism, urgent consultations with pediatricians, emergency services and hospitalization. The impact of this disease is high, not only because of its high morbidity, but also because of the economic and social impact associated with it. Often, illness and nocturnal symptoms accompanied by sleep disturbances in both children and their parents result in poor school performance and lost work days. It is more prevalent in children with a family history of allergy, symptoms and exacerbations are caused by a variety of initiating factors such as viral infections, allergens, cigarette smoke and environmental air pollution. Many patients have recurrent episodes of bronchial symptoms, especially wheezing, cough and respiratory infections that begin from the first months of life [5].

Rhinitis and asthma are very common diseases that often coexist. Its high prevalence is associated with high morbidity and high economic costs. In children, rhinitis is associated with risk of suffering asthma. Also, long-term studies show similar results and asthma is associated with allergic rhinitis and non-allergic rhinitis, which indicates that the interrelation between both entities occurs independently of the presence of atopy [6]. Asthma has been divided according to the degree of control, arbitrarily, in poorly controlled asthma, partially controlled asthma and controlled asthma, according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) symptom questionnaire [2]. Despite being a useful tool in the monitoring of control, these questionnaires are not validated globally and may vary depending on the language. In this situation, there are symptom control questionnaires that are widely recommended by the international guidelines in monitoring the control of asthma in children [7].

In recent years, several questionnaires have been published to measure asthma control in children less than 12 years of age. Of these, four are the most recognized: Asthma Therapy Assessment Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (C-ATAQ), Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT), Asthma Control Questionnaire in children (ACQ) and Asthma Control Questionnaire (CAN) [8]. CAN is the only questionnaire validated in Spanish and English, has two versions, one for children from 2 to 8 years old with questions that must be answered by the primary caregiver and another from 9 to 14 years old, which the child must answer [9]. The overall treatment strategy is not based exclusively on pharmacological therapy; is based on 4 basic pillars: patient and family health education; Allergen control and environmental control; the use of objective measures of lung function to assess the severity of asthma and control of treatment (pharmacological maintenance treatment, rescue treatment and crisis management plan) [10].

The support offered by the family is the main resource for health promotion and prevention of the disease and its damages in chronic diseases, as well as the most effective aid that the individual feels and perceives in all the changes and contingencies throughout the vital cycle [11]. The lack of control of asthma causes serious changes in the daily life of the family, the quality of life of the caregiver and patient, with important repercussions on normal family functioning. That is why asthma is a condition with a high psychosomatic component [12]. Based on the above, the main objective of this study was to determinate factors associated with asthma uncontrolled in pediatric patients in Northwest México.

Materials and Methods

A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out, in the Regional General Hospital #1, of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, located in Obregon City, Sonora, Mexico; in pediatric patients with asthma, which were selected by a consecutive sampling techniques; that met the following inclusion criteria: age between 6 to 15 years, that accepted and signed the informed consent, in the company of an adult family member, which they lived with; patients with psychiatric illness and another pneumopathies were not included and eliminated those who did not complete the survey.

The following data were obtained directly from the patients or medical records: age, gender, socioeconomic level, adherence to treatment, comorbidities (atopic dermatitis, rhino sinusitis and allergic rhinitis), pets, smoking, family functionality, blood levels of eosinophils and immunoglobulin E, nutritional status and treatment with immunotherapy. Patients were assigned to two groups based on their asthma control determined by the result of the CAN test application considering controlled those who had a score lower than eight and uncontrolled those with a score equal to or greater than eight.

The Graffar-Méndez-Castellanos method was used to classify the socio-economic level [13], it was developed in France by Dr. Graffar and adapted by Dr. Hernan Méndez Castellanos, which consists of a stratification of the population from the following five variables: profession of the head of the family, level of instruction of the parents, source of income and housing and neighborhood aspect. From the sum of the variables five strata are identified: high level (stratum I), medium-high level (stratum II), medium level (stratum III), labor (stratum IV) and marginal level (stratum V). The instrument is validated to Spanish with a Cronbach´s alpha of 0.706.

Adherence to treatment was determined by the Morinsky Green test [14], which consists of four clear and simple questions. This test considers good adhesion to that person who correctly answers the 4 questions made (no, no, no and no). It has 49% sensitivity and 68% specificity; it’s validated in Spanish with a Cronbach´s alpha of 0.617. Doctor-patient relationship was measured by applying the PDRQ-9 questionnaire, consisting of 9 questions with a 5-point Likert-type scale, where: 1= very inappropriate and 5= very appropriate, it´s validated in Spanish with a Cronbach´salpha of 0.95. It is considered a successful physician-patient relationship with a score of 35 and above [15].

To evaluate family functionality the family Apgar score was used, which was created by Dr. Smilkstein in 1978. It´s a questionnaire that consists of five questions, with three answer options ranging from 0-2 points, validated in Spanish with a Cronbach´s alpha of 0.8010.To determine nutritional status, body mass index (BMI) was calculated for which the patients were weighed and measured, on a scale with stadiometer (Transcell technology model TI-540-SL), it was calculated based on the Quetelet index (BMI = weight/talla2) and then were evaluated according to the CDC charts of BMI for age, it was considered obese patients who were above the 95th percentile and without obesity those below the 95th percentile.

The data obtained was integrated into data collection sheets and analyzed using the SPSS program version 20 in Spanish, where we applied descriptive statistics; for qualitative variables frequencies and percentages were used and for quantitative variables mean and standard deviation were used. It was considered statistically significant a p <0.05, with a 95% confidence interval, all variables were dichotomized to apply odds ratio and chi square. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was used in which all the statistically significant variables of the Chi squared result were analyzed, expressing the results with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. The robustness of the model was evaluated on the basis of the area under the ROC curve and the assumptions of the model were verified by calculation of residues. The Protocol was authorized by the Local Committee of Research and Ethics in Health Research from the Regional General Hospital #1, where the study took place.

Results

A sample of 126 patients was analyzed, 10 of whom had incomplete information (8.0%), obtaining a total of 116 patients, mostly men with 69.0% compared to 31.0% women, the mean age was 9.9 years (SD±2.6), finding the majority of patients in the group of 7-10 years old (56.0%). The CAN control questionnaire had a mean score of 6.9 points (SD±5) and the majority of the patients had a mediumlow socioeconomic level (46.6%) (Table 1,2). The mean body mass index was 20.4kg/m2 (SD±3.6); 52.6% of the patients had a normal weight according to BMI for age compared to 2.6% overweight and 44.8% with obesity. 91.4% had at least one comorbidity: allergic rhinitis (91.4%), atopic dermatitis (0%) and rhinosinusitis (19%). It was found that 62.1% were under treatment with immunotherapy compared to 37.9% who did not receive immunotherapy (Table 1-4).