Prevalence of asthma in adults in Latin America

Background Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that imposes a substantial health burden in Latin America. Objective To estimate the prevalence of asthma in adults across the region and evaluate the influence of methodological variables on its estimation. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, with searches in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE. Cross-sectional studies reporting asthma prevalence using clinical diagnostic criteria, self-report, or pulmonary function tests were included. Data selection and extraction were performed independently by 2 reviewers, who also assessed the risk of bias. Meta-analysis was conducted using the metaprop function of the meta package in R, applying a random-effects model with the Hartung-Knapp approximation and the Freeman-Tukey proportion transformation. The I² statistic was used to estimate heterogeneity, and meta-regressions were performed to explore the influence of publication year and diagnostic method on prevalence. Results A total of 24 studies with 176,205 participants were included. The combined overall prevalence of asthma was 6.84% (95% CI: 5.73-8.04), with high heterogeneity (I² > 90%). Studies using self-reported medical diagnosis and validated questionnaires tended to demonstrate higher estimates, whereas a single study based on spirometry reported the lowest prevalence (3.86%). Furthermore, a higher prevalence was observed in women compared with men. Conclusion Asthma has a significant prevalence in the adult population of Latin America, although its magnitude varies according to diagnostic and sampling methods. This landscape reflects cultural and epidemiologic heterogeneity, demanding specific interventions to reduce the disease burden.