Determinants of respiratory diseases in East Sikkim

BACKGROUND: Due to the difficult geographic terrain with lack of roads and transport, the Sikkim State in India finds difficulties in contending the respiratory diseases especially during the rainy seasons. FINDINGS: A case–control study was conducted for two months at the Central Referral Hospital of East Sikkim involving 110 individuals in the age group of 10 years and above. Due to feasibility constraints, 55 cases and 55 controls were selected by applying the non-probability sampling method with age and sex matching. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed by using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 10.0 for windows. Findings were expressed in terms of proportion, Chi Square Test and Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis. Here, p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. This study revealed that the presence of overcrowding, chronic exposure to allergens, smoking habits, chronic respiratory illnesses within last 5 years, family history of chronic respiratory illnesses and mental illnesses were independently associated with respiratory diseases. CONCLUSION: This study should be replicated in other parts of Sikkim to obtain more confirmatory evidence on determinants of respiratory diseases.