Asthma Severity and Environmental Health Risk Factor among Asthmatic Primary School Children in the Selected Areas

Abstract

<b>Problem statement:</b> The purpose of this study was to assess the severity of asthma and associated risk factors among asthmatic primary school children in the selected urban, industrial and rural areas of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. <b>Approach:</b> A total of 207 respondents were involved in this study, in which 87 were children from the urban areas, 67 children were from the industrial areas and another 53 children were from rural areas. The selection of respondents was based on purposive sampling method, where only asthmatic children who had been diagnosed by physicians were involved. Health records of the children were obtained from the school administration office. Respondents were children from Standard 2 to Standard 5, with informed consent from their parents. A modified ISAAC Questionnaire translated into the Malay language was administered to the children and then completed by the parents. Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) readings were measured using a peak flow meter Mini Weight Model AFS CE 0120 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday before and after the school hour. Continuous ambient air pollutants (PM₁₀, CO, SO₂ and NO₂) levels were obtained from the Department of Environment. <b>Results:</b> Results showed significant influence of PEF reading before and days in the week, on the PEF reading after school among respondents. The severity of asthma among respondents was classified according to the PEF variability, day and night symptoms as well as the respiratory scores. Most of the children had mild and moderate asthma. Statistics showed that PM₁₀ and allergy to pollen significantly influenced the asthma severity among respondents. <b>Conclusion:</b> The air pollutants in term of PM₁₀ which may contain pollen were higher in the urban and industrial areas. This study provided a confirmatory evidence that the asthmatic children who live in urban and industrial areas have greater risk of developing severe asthma.

Indoor Air Quality and Respiratory Health among Malay Preschool Children in Selangor

“…The study conducted by Zakaria et. al, [15] among a total of 207 school children in Klang Valley revealed that the presence of particulate matter can influence the severity of asthma among primary school children in urban, industrial, and rural areas of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Study by Pierse et al [16] reported a higher prevalence of cough without cold in a cohort of 4400 preschool children with increased exposure to locally generated particulate matter pollution mainly from the road.…”

“…The long-term effects of PM 2.5 particles on children include both lung function changes and the development of chronic respiratory disease, while short-term exposures to PM 10 can result in increased respiratory symptoms. The concentrations of PM 10 were associated with wheezing among asthmatic school children in a study conducted by Zakaria et al [15]. …”

“…Research based on parental reports of symptoms also showed elevated rates of wheeze in association with PM 2.5 and PM 10 among preschoolers [16]. A study conducted by Zakaria et al [15] also revealed that the presence of particulate matter, which is the PM 10 , influenced the severity of asthma among primary school children in urban, industrial, and rural areas of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.…”

Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha as Biomarkers of Exposure to Indoor Pollutants Among Primary School Children in Klang Valley

“…This is supported by a study from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated approximately, 3.5 million people die early annually from indoor air pollution and 3.3 million from outdoor air pollution (Reuters, 2013). The effects of air pollution on respiratory symptoms (Gül et al, 2011;Liu et al, 2013;Tabaku et al, 2011), asthma attacks (Zakaria et al, 2012) and lung function (Linares et al, 2010) have been shown.…”