A Survey on the Quality of Life in Patients with Bronchial Asthma in an Outpatient Clinic in Malaysia

Abstract

Introduction: Bronchial asthma is one of the common diseases encountered by the physicians which leads to morbidity and mortality. Therefore it is important to know the quality of life in these patients. So that necessary measures can be taken to improve it. Objectives: To assess the quality of life in patients with bronchial asthma. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted at a private clinic in Malaysia. Data was collected from 40 asthmatic patients. They were administered the mini asthma quality of life questionnaire developed by Professor Elizabeth Juniper. The Questionnaire tests four domains which includes symptoms, activity limitation, emotional function and environmental stimuli. The mean scores of 1-3.9, 4-4.9 and ≥ 5 indicated severe, moderate, mild limitations in the quality of life respectively. The data was analyzed using SPSS software (Statistical package for the social sciences). Results: The mean age of the patients was 32.7±15 yrs. We found that 70% of the patients were females. 60% of the patients had severe impairment in the quality of life. In the symptoms, emotional function and environmental stimuli domains 70%, 65% and 75% of the patients respectively had severe impairment in the quality of life, whereas in the activity domain it was only 27.5%. Conclusion: We conclude that most of the patients had severe impairment in the quality of life. It was seen that there was least impairment in the activity domain. Larger studies with more sample size is required to strengthen our findings.