Objective: To study asthma-related absenteeism in the asthmatic population in Spain and to identify some risk factors for absenteeism.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on patients who had been diagnosed with asthma in the primary care setting at least 1 year before the start of this study. A questionnaire was designed that included socio-demographic and clinical variables. The time absent from work in the previous year was self-reported by the patients.
Results: More than 25% of the asthmatic population in Spain took sick leave during the previous year. Visits to a general practitioner or to the emergency department are the factors associated with the greatest risk of absenteeism.
Conclusions: Absenteeism is common within the asthmatic population in Spain. The authors of this study believe that some of the determining factors could be modified by the health-care system.