Prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases in Aboriginal children: A whole population study

Abstract

Background: The burden of bronchiectasis is disproportionately high in Aboriginal adults, with early mortality. Bronchiectasis precursors, that is, protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) and chronic suppurative lung disease (CSLD), often commence in early childhood. We previously reported a 10% prevalence of PBB in Aboriginal children aged 0 to 7 years, however there are no data on prevalence of chronic lung diseases in older children. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of PBB, CSLD, bronchiectasis, and asthma in Aboriginal children living in four communities.Methods: A whole-population cross-sectional community co-designed study of Aboriginal children aged <18-years in four remote communities in Western Australia

Evaluation of the implementation and clinical effects of an intervention to improve medical follow-up and health outcomes for Aboriginal children hospitalised with chest infections

“…We previously found that when parents are provided with disease specific health information, they provide accurate information regarding their child's respiratory health. 24 Specifically, parental report of their child's cough following provision of culturally secure lung health information correlated highly with clinician assessment, which correlated with clinician assessment (κ = 0.92). 23 …”

“… 2 Further, the prevalence of chronic wet cough and bronchiectasis is also high, with up to 14% and 1.3% respectively in some parts of WA. 23 , 24 The only pediatric tertiary hospital is in the State's capital, Perth, and is up to 3000 km by road for some pediatric patients requiring hospitalisation ( e-Fig. S2 ).…”

Pediatric Pulmonology 2022 year in review: Rare and diffuse lung disease

“…Protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) has been implicated as a precursor to chronic suppurative lung disease (CSLD) and bronchiectasis, the prevalence of which is particularly high amongst several indigenous populations 30 . Laird et al 31 sought to assess the prevalence of bronchiectasis in Aboriginal children from four communities in Western Australia. In a cohort of 392 Aboriginal children, 30 (8%) had PBB, 13 (3%) had CSLD, and 5 (1%) had bronchiectasis.…”

Association between perinatal and early life exposures and lung function in Australian Indigenous young adults: The Aboriginal Birth Cohort study

“…Morbidity and mortality from respiratory diseases amongst Indigenous populations worldwide are recognized to be high. [1][2][3][4][5] Within Australia, respiratory morbidity and mortality in Indigenous people are considerably higher than the non-Indigenous population. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Data on chronic respiratory disease, prevalence of lung function abnormalities and their natural history amongst Indigenous adults in the community are limited.…”

“…Morbidity and mortality from respiratory diseases amongst Indigenous populations worldwide are recognized to be high 1–5 . Within Australia, respiratory morbidity and mortality in Indigenous people are considerably higher than the non‐Indigenous population 6–12 .…”