A sequel of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood or a prelude to the Global Asthma Network?

Abstract

Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases, affecting over 334 million individuals worldwide. 1 A very different distribution of its prevalence around the world was described by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). 2,3 This enormous research program has been surveying the prevalence and risk factors for asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema globally for three decades, and has provided a large body of epidemiological information which was expected to yield new clues about the etiology of these conditions. However, the latest survey, ISAAC phase three, was conducted ten years ago, and since then, no other has been performed worldwide. Fortunately, some researchers have used the same methodology DOI of original article: http://dx.