The prevalence of asthma and asthma-like symptoms among adults in rural Beijing, China

Abstract

No data have been reported on the prevalence of asthma in rural areas of China. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of asthmalike symptoms, reported asthma and reported asthma attacks in rural Beijing, China, and to compare the prevalence in 20-44-yr-old participants with those reported for Canada and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS).For a cross-sectional survey, 30 villages were randomly selected in the counties of Shunyi and Tongxian, 50 km north and east respectively of the city of Beijing and within the municipality of Beijing. The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease questionnaire on bronchial symptoms translated into Chinese was completed by village doctors for each individual of w15 yrs. The survey was completed by 22,561 individuals, representing 98% of the eligible population.The prevalence of asthma-like symptoms and reported asthma attacks was higher in females than in males and increased with age. Smoking significantly increased the prevalence of symptoms; the effect in females was greater than in males. Among the 20-44-yr-olds, the prevalence of reported asthma attacks in the previous 12 months was 0.67% in rural Beijing, very much lower than that reported in ECRHS centres (3.1%), urban Canada (6.9%) and semirural Canada (5.1%), after adjusting for age and sex. The prevalence of asthma-like symptoms was also very low in rural Beijing compared with ECRHS centres and Canada.It is concluded that the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms and reported asthma was low in rural China compared with other countries, consistent with reports of the relative scarcity of asthma in farms and the "hygiene hypothesis".

Prevalence of Asthma and Asthma-Related Symptoms Among Adults Exposed to Indoor Environmental Risk Factors: a Comparison between Winter and Summer in Zunyi, China

“…This study found that the prevalence of asthma in winter and in summer in the adult population of Zunyi were 1.8% and 0.8%, respectively, using data collected from a random sample of the registered population, which was lower than those reported by Western European (4.1%), Eastern European (5.4%) and American (15.4%) studies [12][13][14], plus a study conducted in three Chinese cities in 1988 (3.6%) [15]. The rates were closer to the fi ndings of two community-based studies (1.9% vs. 2.0%) performed in rural Beijing in China [16][17]. In general terms, higher prevalence rates have been found among adults from Western countries than in developing countries.…”

Occupational and environmental risk factors for respiratory symptoms in rural Beijing, China

“…A low prevalence of asthma symptoms and self-reported asthma attacks, and a much less frequent use of medication for asthma in rural Beijing than [8] and are similar to other observations from China [7]. A Chinese version of the ISAAC questionnaire for studying asthma and asthma-like symptoms in children has been validated [13].…”

“…A very low prevalence of asthma-like symptoms and self-reported asthma in the previous 12 months was found [8]. In the present report, the relationship of occupational and environmental exposure to chemical, insecticide, fertilisers and emissions from domestic fuel to asthma symptoms, self-reported asthma and chronic respiratory symptoms in these rural communities is examined.…”

“…A survey has been carried out on adults in randomly selected villages in two rural counties of the municipality of Beijing, China [8], using the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) Questionnaire on Bronchial Symptoms [9]. A very low prevalence of asthma-like symptoms and self-reported asthma in the previous 12 months was found [8].…”

Respiratory diseases morbidity and mortality among adults attending a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

“…In the present study, asthma was the second leading cause of respiratory diseases and the third leading cause of hospitalization, being more common among the women than among the men, which is in agreement with the findings of epidemiological studies conducted in Brazil, Iran, China and the USA. (14,(21)(22)(23) The female predominance can be attributed to the fact that, at birth, lung size is smaller in males than in females, whereas the inverse is true in adult- (30) Although there was an increase from 2.1% to 26.4% in the percentage of people receiving HAART, the number of people living with HIV/ AIDS who were not on treatment was still high; this is unacceptable and fails to meet the World Health Organization target .Therefore, we need to increase the accessibility and availability of antiretroviral therapy for Nigerians with HIV/ AIDS.…”