Prevalence and associated factors of bronchial asthma among adult patients in Debre Berhan Referral Hospital, Ethiopia 2018: A cross-sectional study

Objective: Bronchial asthma is one of the major public health challenges throughout the world that negatively impact patients, families and community. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of bronchial asthma among patients in adult emergency department of Debre Berhan Referral Hospital. A hospital based cross-sectional study design was used among 257 study participants. A systematic sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data was collected by using pretested and structured questionnaire and analyzed by using SPSS version 20.0. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the predictors of asthma. Results: Prevalence of bronchial asthma among adult patients was 29.6%. Being an urban resident (AOR: 1.5: 95% CI 1.3-3.9), income of household less than 1000 EBr/month (AOR: 1.7: 95% CI 1.6-4.1), having family history of asthma (AOR: 2.7: 95% CI 1.3-5.8), and presence of vermin in the house (AOR: 2.4: 95% CI 1.2-4.7) were significantly associated with bronchial asthma. The authors concluded that the prevalence of bronchial asthma among adult patients was high. Therefore, educational program about the risk factors and preventive measures of asthma is highly recommended.