Adherence to asthma therapy and its corelation with asthma control in children

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways associated with high healthcare resource utilisations and reduced quality of life.1 More than 300 million people are suffering from asthma worldwide.2 Although exact epidemiological data of bronchial asthma is lacking, it is a major health problem in Pakistan, posing high burden on our healthcare system. It is estimated that almost 5% of the total population is suffering from bronchial asthma and among them 5% belong to the paediatric age group.3 Asthma prevalence was found to be 18% among children of 13-14 years age groups in a study done in Karachi in 2006.4 According to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), prevalence of asthma in Pakistan is 4-5%.5 Changes in lifestyle, environmental pollution, urbanisation, obesity and lack of exercise are major risk factors responsible for this increase in the incidence, prognosis and severity of childhood asthma.6 It is well established that effective management of asthma depends upon patient's adherence to daily treatment regimens. Taboos and myths regarding asthma in our society are other risk factors posing significant hindrance to the effective management of asthma.7 Adherence to asthma medication regimens vary greatly and various studies have 1 Nishtar Hospital, Multan and Nishtar Medical University, Multan, PB, Pakistan. reported adherence rates between 30% and 70%,8 but in Pakistan no study has been done so far regarding medication adherence assessment in childhood asthma. Poor adherence to treatment regimens results in decreased effect of prescribed medications and subsequently increases the likelihood of poor outcomes.2 Omission of doses, incorrect medications, use of incorrect doses, discontinuation of drugs without physician advice, not following advice to avoid allergens, wrong inhalation technique and use of complementary and alternative medications (CAM) are various forms of non-adherence to asthma treatment. The current study was planned to assess the degree of medication adherence and its association with asthma control in paediatric patients.