title: Ethnicity as a determinant of asthma-related quality of life in a multiracial country.
abstract: In a multiracial country like Malaysia, ethnicity may influence the measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in asthmatic patients. We invited 131 adult patients [44 Malays, 42 Chinese and 45 Indians; mean (95% CI) age: 43 (40.2-45.7) yrs; 28.2% male] with moderate-to-severe persistent asthma followed up in an urban-based hospital outpatient clinic to complete a disease-specific HRQL questionnaire [St Georges' Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ)] and to provide socio-demographic and asthma-related data. Indians reported significantly worse SGRQ total score, compared to Malays [mean (95% CI) difference: 10.15 (0.51-19.78); p = 0.037] and SGRQ activity score, compared to Malays [13.50 (1.95-25.05); p = 0.019] and Chinese [11.88 (0.19-25.05); p = 0.046]. Further analysis using multivariate linear regression showed that Indian ethnicity remained independently associated with SGRQ scores. Our finding highlights the relevance of ethnicity in assessing HRQL of asthmatic patients in a multiracial country such as Malaysia.
authors.affiliation: International Medical University Lung Research, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur. loh@imu.edu.my
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Teh
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Seth
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vijayasingham
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thayaparan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D001249:Asthma / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population