Prevalence of asthma among Emirates school children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asthma among United Arab Emirates school children aged 6-14 years. A cross-sectional study of 850 school children living in both urban and rural areas (average age 9.36 +/- 2.11 years, 46.8% boys and 53.2% girls) was conducted using self-administered questionnaires between October 1992 and May 1993. The population sample had a high prevalence rate of diagnosed asthma (13.6%), breathlessness or tightness in chest (9.7%), allergic rhinitis (22.9%), and nocturnal cough (8.9%). Allergic rhinitis was the most frequently seen respiratory illness when compared to other respiratory symptoms. The frequency of asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema among parents reflected the same pattern as that seen in the children. Prevalence rate of asthma was not significantly higher in fathers (5.9%) than in mothers (5.3%). The differences between the sexes were not significant in any of the age group studied for any of the allergic conditions, except for diagnosed asthma in which the prevalence rate in males was significantly higher than that in females. On the whole, the prevalence rate of all the conditions increased with age. But the frequency of allergic rhinitis symptoms was significantly higher in mothers (16%) than in fathers (10.8%). These results are consistent with those obtained in neighbouring gulf countries and are higher than those of some developed countries, but the differences are not statistically significant.

Prevalence of Asthma among Qatari Schoolchildren: International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, Qatar

“…Therefore, age-related prevalence rates would probably give a better picture of the epidemiology of asthma. 17 The other important aspect is whether symptoms like recurrent wheeze and nocturnal cough, together with physician-diagnosed asthma, are truly indicative of asthma.…”

The Impact of Asthma and Allergic Diseases on Schoolchildren: Are They at Increased Risk of Absenteeism and Poor School Performance?

“…An approval was obtained from the Regional Directors of Education and from individual school principals at all selected schools. Again we had a double confirmation on the data obtained on asthmatic children by using the modified version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood [ISAAC] questionnaire (Vichyanond et al, 1998) and another questionnaire (Bener et al, 1994a). A written consent form was obtained from the parents of each child, after giving an explanation of the aims and nature of the studies.…”

Factors related to severe acute asthma in childhood - epidemiologic and clinical aspects

“…O quadro clínico dessas crianças na admissão na UTIP era composto por uso da musculatura acessória, sibilância, cianose, disfunção da fala e tosse, achados concordantes com os da literatura 5,6,13,14,30,42 . Muitos autores têm destacado que, entre os sinais significativos de sofrimento respiratório, também devem ser consideradas as dificuldades da fala e da deglutição associadas com a sensação de falta de ar 2,5 .…”

“…Canny et al 2 destacaram que, no Canadá, a maior parte das consultas por asma ocorre no final do outono e no início do inverno. Na UTIP, entre os asmáticos, foram registrados um predomínio da incidência entre os meninos (1,2:1,0) e uma média de idade de 25,5 meses, resultados similares aos de outros autores 3,13,21,22,[29][30][31][32] . A inclusão de 2 crianças com 6 meses nesta amostra ocorreu em função do estudo ser prospectivo, o que possibilitou que o diagnóstico da doença ocorresse posteriormente.…”

“…Têm sido demonstrados aumentos na incidência de asma grave, na freqüência de visitas às salas de emergência pediátrica, nas admissões hospitalares e na mortalidade. Diversas situações evoluem com quadros graves e necessitam internação em unidades de terapia intensiva pediátrica (UTIP), entretanto, são poucos os estudos que consideram os aspectos epidemiológicos da asma aguda grave em crianças 3,7,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] .…”