Respiratory symptoms in Mauritius are related to ethnicity and level of education

<bold>Background:</bold> The prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases among adults in the multiethnic population of Mauritius is unclear. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and their relation to ethnicity and educational level. <bold>Method:</bold> A population-based health survey was performed in 2021, including 3,627 individuals aged 19-84 years. Of these, 3,533 had complete survey data on anthropometry, smoking, education, and respiratory symptoms. Respiratory symptoms were defined as CAT ≥10 and/or mMRC ≥2. Educational level was defined as 0-6 years, 7-12 years, and tertiary. <bold>Results:</bold> The prevalence of ever smoking and respiratory symptoms is presented in Table 1. In a multivariable logistic regression adjusting for sex, age, BMI, and smoking, Indian and Creole ethnicity (OR 1.6, CI 1.1-2.2 and OR 1.7, CI 1.2-2.4 respectively) as well as low educational level (0-6 years) (OR 1.4, CI 1.1-1.8) were associated with the presence of respiratory symptoms (table 2). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> In Mauritius, a large proportion of the population has respiratory symptoms, and the prevalence of ever smoking is high among men. Ethnicity and educational level is associated with the occurance of respiratory symptoms. However, the association with chronic respiratory diseases is unknown and warrants further study. <table-wrap><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA3105/TB1</object-id><object-id>T1</object-id><object-id>TB1</object-id><table><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><bold>Table 1</bold></td><td><bold>Male</bold></td><td><bold>Female</bold></td><td><bold>Chinese</bold></td><td><bold>Indian</bold></td><td><bold>Creole</bold></td></tr><tr><td><bold>Ever smoker (%)</bold></td><td>41.0</td><td>6.0</td><td>15.7</td><td>20.7</td><td>31.9</td></tr><tr><td><bold>CAT ≥10 (%)</bold></td><td>24.8</td><td>28.6</td><td>14.1</td><td>27.2</td><td>29.8</td></tr><tr><td><bold>mMRC ≥2 (%)</bold></td><td>16.0</td><td>16.9</td><td>17.7</td><td>16.7</td><td>14.8</td></tr><tr><td><bold>Any respiratory symptom (%)</bold></td><td>36.6</td><td>39.8</td><td>30.3</td><td>38.4</td><td>40.7</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap> <table-wrap><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA3105/TB2</object-id><object-id>T2</object-id><object-id>TB2</object-id><table><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><bold>Table 2</bold></td><td><bold>OR</bold></td><td><bold>CI</bold></td></tr><tr><td><bold>Female sex</bold></td><td>1.1</td><td>1.0-1.3</td></tr><tr><td><bold>ETHNICITY</bold></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td><bold>Chinese</bold></td><td>ref</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><bold>Indian</bold></td><td><italic>1.6</italic></td><td><italic>1.1-2.2</italic></td></tr><tr><td><bold>Creole</bold></td><td><italic>1.7</italic></td><td><italic>1.2-2.4</italic></td></tr><tr><td><bold>EDUCATION</bold></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td><bold>Tetriary</bold></td><td>ref</td><td></td></tr><tr><td><bold>0-6 years</bold></td><td><italic>1.4</italic></td><td><italic>1.1-1.8</italic></td></tr><tr><td><bold>7-12 years</bold></td><td>1.1</td><td>0.9-1.4</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap>