| Summary: | Background: Asthma is a significant cause of morbidity worldwide. Research suggests that Indigenous people experience a higher asthma burden than non-Indigenous Canadians. However, few studies have examined the prevalence of asthma and associated factors in adult First Nations people by phenotype and through a sex/gender lens. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of atopic and non-atopic asthma in First Nations women and men and whether the correlates of asthma varied by atopic status and by sex/gender. Methods: The data source was the First Nations Lung Health Project (FNLHP), a community-based participatory study in two First Nation communities in rural Saskatchewan, Canada. Participants were 648 women and 647 men 18 years of age and older. Data were obtained via interviewer-administered questionnaires and clinical testing. The dependent variable, asthma phenotype, was a categorical variable with three response options (no asthma, atopic asthma, non-atopic asthma) and derived from a combination of self-reported asthma and allergy testing. The independent variables included personal, environmental, and social/economic factors. Multinomial logistic regression was the primary analysis. Results: Atopic and nonatopic asthma prevalence was 11.4% and 5%, respectively. There were no significant sex differences in asthma prevalence; however, the results of the multivariable analysis indicated a significantly higher occurrence of non-atopic asthma in women 40 years of age and older compared to same-age men. Only one variable was associated with atopic asthma: those with depression had 2.9 times higher odds of atopic asthma than those without depression (95%CI: 1.38, 6.20). Statistically significantly associated with an elevated odds of non-atopic asthma were home dampness (OR=1.83, 95%CI: 1.08-3.11), ever alcohol use (OR=2.21, 95%CI: 1.09-4.48) and the presence of a co-morbidity (OR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.17, 2.68). Financial strain was related to an increased odds of nonatopic asthma in women and decreased odds in men. ...
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