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Table 1 Socio-demographic, anthropometric, household, lifestyle and occupational factors among adults ≥18 years, Karachi, Pakistan (n = 1629)

From: Epidemiology of asthma and associated factors in an urban Pakistani population: adult asthma study-Karachi

Characteristics

n (%)

Age

 18 to 27 years

531 (32.6)

 28 to 37 years

399 (24.5)

  ≥ 38 years

699 (42.9)

Gender

 Male

658 (40.4)

 Female

971 (59.6)

Birth Order

 1st

394 (24.2)

 2nd

310 (19.0)

 3rd

295 (18.1)

  ≥ 4th

630 (38.7)

Total number of children in household

 1 to 3

232 (14.3)

 4 to 5

442 (27.1)

  ≥ 6

955 (58.6)

Ethnicity

 Urdu

715 (43.9)

 Punjabi

469 (28.8)

 Sindhi

295 (18.1)

 Pushto

90 (5.5)

 Baluchi

60 (3.7)

Educational levela (n = 1626)

 Literate

1109 (68.2)

 Illiterate

517 (31.8)

Socio-economic statusb (n = 1621)

 High-income

537 (33.0)

 Middle-income

544 (33.4)

 Low-income

540 (33.1)

Number of rooms in house

 1 room

293 (18.0)

  ≥ 2 rooms

1336 (82.0)

House ownership status

 Own

1223 (75.1)

 Rented

407 (24.9)

Type of household

 Pakka

1579 (97.0)

 Kacha-Pakka

50 (3.0)

Type of clusterc

 Planned

855 (52.5)

 Unplanned

774 (47.5)

Wet spots inside house

844 (51.8)

Mold Inside house

81 (5.0)

Animal or birds inside housed

474 (29.0)

Carpeting inside house

528 (32.4)

Incense burning in house

767 (47.1)

Mosquito coil burning in house

739 (45.4)

Painted home in last 6 months

204 (12.5)

Cook food

894 (54.9)

Frequency of cooking food

 No cooking at all

735 (45.1)

 Occasionally

143 (8.8)

 Daily

751 (46.1)

Presence of window in kitchen

491 (30.1)

Presence of exhaust fan in kitchen

227 (13.9)

Type of kitchen

 Outdoor

632 (38.7)

 Indoor separate

268 (16.5)

 Indoor non-separate

729 (44.8)

Smoking statuse

 Never

1409 (86.5)

 Ever

220 (13.5)

Pack years of smokingf

 Non smoker

1409 (86.5)

  ≤ 10

132 (8.1)

 10–20

31 (1.9)

  > 20

57 (3.5)

Exposure to environmental tobacco smokeg

452 (28.1)

Body Mass Indexh (n = 1611)

 Underweight

673 (41.8)

 Normal weight

575 (35.7)

 Overweight and obese

363 (22.5)

History of any allergy

451 (27.7)

Family history of asthma

192 (11.8)

Family History of tuberculosis

44 (2.7)

Exposure to any dusty job

 Never worked

899 (55.2)

 Working and no dust exposure

293 (18.0)

 Working and dust exposure

437 (26.8)

Exposure to gas or fumes at work

 Never worked

899 (55.2)

 Working and no gas exposure

592 (36.3)

 Working and gas exposure

138 (8.5)

Current employment statusi

 Unemployed

1000 (61.4)

 Employed

629 (38.6)

ISCO Categoriesj

 Not working

1000 (61.4)

 White collar worker

301 (18.5)

 Blue collar worker

328 (20.1)

  1. aEducational level: those who never attended school or did not know how to read or write were considered as illiterate while those who had been to school were categorized as literate
  2. bSocio-economic status was defined using the proxy indicator of monthly household income which included income of all members living in the same house as well as additional earnings based on any business or other investment
  3. cType of cluster was defined as planned areas included those with permanent housing structure, sufficient living place, access to safe water and adequate sanitation system, while unplanned areas were densely populated areas of substandard housing, characterized by poverty, unsanitary and inferior living conditions and social disorganization
  4. dAnimal or birds inside house included both pets as well as animals kept as livestock
  5. eEver smoker was defined as smoking more than 20 packs of cigarettes in a lifetime or more than one cigarette a day for one year
  6. fPack years of smoking was defined as the number of cigarettes smoked per day divided by 20 and multiplied by the number of years that the person smoked
  7. gExposure to environmental tobacco smoke was defined as anyone who smoked cigarettes anywhere inside the house
  8. hBody mass index was defined according to WHO criteria for Asian population and categorized as: underweighted, < 18.5 kg/m2; normal, 18.5–23 kg/m2; overweight and obese, ≥ 23 kg/m2
  9. iCurrent employment status was defined as employed somewhere currently or self-employed, whereas, unemployed included students, housewives, those currently not working anywhere or retired
  10. jThe International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) categories were three i.e. not working, high and low skilled blue collar workers (involved in manual work), high and low skilled white collar workers (involved in desk work)