Objective: To evaluate the factors associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosisrisk.
Methods: The case-controlstudywas conductedfromJanuary 5, 2017,toSeptember 4, 2018, attheprivate-sectorAga Khan University Hospital and the public-sector Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, two large tertiary care centres in Karachi, andcomprisedadultpatientsof eithergenderwithdiagnosedidiopathicpulmonary fibrosis, asdefinedby the IndianChest Registry. Subjects without idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis but registered with the department of pulmonology of the two hospitalswere enrolledas controls.Datawas collectedusinga structuredquestionnaire, andanthropometricmeasurements were noted for each subject. Gastroesophageal reflux disease was assessed using GerdQ. This wasfollowed by serological evaluations and spirometry. Data was analysed using SPSS 21.
Results: Of the 459 subjects, 154(33.6%)were cases and305(66.4%)were controls.Amongthe cases, 81(52.6%)were females and 73(47.4%) were males with mean age 66.1±10.9 years. Among the controls, 162(53.1%) were females and 143(46.9%) were males with mean age 64.6±11.1 years(p>0.05.)The most common ethnicity wasUrdu-speaking; 89(58%) among the cases and 150(49%) among the controls (p<0.05). Ethnicity, number of persons in the household per room, and type of house were significantly associated with the risk of developing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(p<0.05).
Conclusions: Ethnicity,type of house and the number of personsin a household perroom were found to be the significant risk factorsfor idiopathic pulmonary fibrosisIPF.
Keywords: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Risk factors, Epidemiology, Pakistan..