Rural to urban migration contributes to the high burden of asthma in the urban area

• Published in: The clinical respiratory journal Vol. 13; no. 9; pp. 560 - 566
• Main Authors: Ponte, Eduardo Vieira, Lima, Aline, Almeida, Paula Cristina Andrade, de Jesus, Juliana Pires Viana, Souza‐Machado, Adelmir, Barreto, Maurício Lima, Cruz, Álvaro A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2019
• Subjects: Administration, Inhalation; Adrenal Cortex Hormones - administration & dosage; Adrenal Cortex Hormones - therapeutic use; Adult; Asthma; Asthma - diagnosis; Asthma - drug therapy; Asthma - epidemiology; Brazil - epidemiology; Case-Control Studies; case‐control study; Cost of Illness; environment; Female; Humans; inhaled corticosteroids; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; Rural urban migration; Severity of Illness Index; Transients and Migrants - statistics & numerical data; treatment; uncontrolled symptoms; Urban areas; Urban Population - statistics & numerical data; Brazil; treatment; environment; uncontrolled symptoms; case-control study; inhaled corticosteroids
• ISSN: 1752-6981; 1752-699X; 1752-699X
• DOI: 10.1111/crj.13058

Introduction It is unknown whether rural‐urban migration contributes to worse the burden of asthma in the cities. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate whether subjects with asthma that migrated from rural areas to a large urban center in Brazil have more severe disease than asthmatic subjects that was born and always lived in the urban area. Methods This is a case‐control study. We enrolled two groups of subjects with asthma currently living in a large urban center in Brazil: 486 subjects with moderate‐severe asthma and 432 subjects with mild asthma. Results Rural‐urban migrants had higher odds of moderate‐severe asthma [adjusted OR 1.57, 95% CI (1.18‐2.01)] and uncontrolled symptoms of asthma [adjusted OR 1.80, 95% CI (1.16‐2.76)] than urban‐born subjects. Conclusions Rural‐urban migrants in Brazil have more severe asthma than urban‐born subjects. Our results suggest that rural‐urban migration is associated with the high burden of asthma in the urban area.