Impact of Socio-Economic Status on Asthma Control and Therapeutic Compliance in the Tunisian Population

Introduction: Asthma is a major public health problem associated with a significant health and economic burden. Taking socio-economic status into account is crucial in the management of asthma. Objective: Assess asthma control, adherence, and treatment use according to socio-economic status. Methods: A retrospective study including 103 asthmatic patients out-put followed in the pulmonology department 1 of the Abderrahmane Mami hospital. The population was divided into two groups: a group of 84 patients with good socio-economic status and a group of 19 patients with low socioeconomic status. Results: The population was majority female (77.4 %) with a mean age of 45 ±15 years. Patients with low socio-economic status have significantly worse asthma control compared to those with high socio-economic status (mean ACT 15.63 vs 20.4; p <0.001). Seventy-three point seven of patients with low socioeconomic status used short-acting B2 more than twice a week against 34.5 % of patients with high socio-economic level (p=0.002). Patients with a good socio-economic status are more compliant with their treatment: 65.5 % vs 31 % of patients living in poor conditions (p=0.015) according to the score of Morisky. Conclusion : The socio-economic status determines important inequalities of control and therapeutic compliance within the Tunisian population of asthmatics and for that it should be more studied to improve the therapeutic management.