ABSTRACT
Background.The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Shisha use has recently been gaining increased popularity in many developed and developing countries.Objective. To determine the prevalence of shisha use among students in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and associated knowledge, smoking practices and beliefs about health effects.Method. A total of 443 students were selected for this cross-sectional study, using a stratified sampling method. Data on shisha use, knowledge about shisha, shisha smoking practices, and factors associated with use of shisha were collected via a questionnaire. The association between the independent variables and shisha use was assessed using a χ2 test (p<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine variables that were independently associated with shisha smoking.Results.Of the 421 respondents, 162 (38.5%) indicated that they had smoked shisha; 14.0% were regular smokers. We found that 183 students (43.5%) had poor knowledge about the health effects of shisha. The main reasons for shisha smoking were being in the company of friends who were users (57.4%), the pleasant flavour and fragrance of shisha (25.9%), and fashion (22.2%). Ninety-nine shisha smokers (61.1%) also consumed alcohol. Factors associated with shisha smoking included age <20 years (p<0.001), gender (p=0.034), and educational level of the respondent's father (p=0.0001) and mother (p=0.0004).Conclusion. We found a relatively high prevalence of shisha smoking among the students, and that 43.5% of them had poor knowledge about its effects on health. Developing surveillance, intervention and regulatory/policy frameworks specific to shisha has become a public health priority.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Students , Nicotiana , Tobacco Use Disorder , Smoking , Public Health Practice , Cross-Sectional Studies , Smoking Water Pipes , CultureABSTRACT
Background: Despite the recommendations now in force for the management of asthma, evidence suggests that many asthmatic patients still have their disease uncontrolled. Objective: to assess asthma control and to identify the fac-tors associated with uncontrolled disease among the patients received for consultation in the department of Pneumology in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Patients and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from 02/01/2015 to 01/31/2016 in the department of Pneu-mology of Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital in Oua-gadougou. All asthma patients seen during this time frame participated in this study. The 2014 GINA criteria were used to assess the asthma control status.Results: One hundred and two asthmatic patients were in-cluded (76 women and 26 men) with a mean age of 38.7 ± 18.6 years. Asthma was found to be well controlled in 26.5% of cases, partially controlled in 34.3% of cases and uncontrolled in 39.2% of cases. The following factors were found to be associated with an uncontrolled asthma: age >36 years (p = 0.002), low level of education (p = 0.04), allergic rhinitis (p = 0.01), overweight (p = 0.03), duration of asthma ⥠10 years (p = 0.04), therapeutic non-compliance (p = 0.00).Conclusion: Asthma was insufficiently controlled in our study. A tremendous emphasis must be put on not only on the therapeutic education of asthma patients, but also on a better management of comorbiditie