Assessing Knowledge and Awareness of Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among the Iraqi Population.

Purpose: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic respiratory diseases that result from persistent inflammation of the bronchial tubes. This study aimed to evaluate general attitudes and knowledge of Iraqi individuals towards asthma and COPD and to determine factors associated with higher knowledge levels, particularly considering the increase in pollution levels in developing countries.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a Google Forms questionnaire distributed across various social networking platforms. The questionnaire collected demographic data (age, gender, marital status, and economic status) alongside participants' knowledge about chronic respiratory diseases.

Results: A total of 1033 Iraqi adults participated, 61% of whom were women. Most participants were non-smokers (82.4%) and did not report having chronic diseases (85.7%). Although majority demonstrated high levels of knowledge about COPD and asthma (68.8% and 59.8%, respectively). Nearly half of the participants believed that smoking is the main cause of asthma. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender, working in the medical field, and presence of chronic conditions were significantly associated with higher asthma knowledge levels (p < 0.05). While younger age, higher income levels, and working in the medical field were significantly associated with higher COPD knowledge levels (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: This study showed that while most Iraqis possess good knowledge of chronic respiratory diseases, awareness remains limited and influenced by factors such as socioeconomic status. It is essential to conduct further research on awareness related to respiratory diseases and to develop incentive programs aimed at improving societal awareness.