Prevalence of asthma and atopy among primary school children

Abstract

INTRODUCTION : Prevalence of asthma and atopy among school children in Sri Lanka is not known. Objectives : To estimate prevalence of asthma and atopy in children between 5-11 years and to determine the influence of sex and age on the prevalence of asthma. METHODS: A total of 2043 children between 5-11 years of 3 mixed schools in Gampaha district were screened for symptoms of asthma and atopy using a questionnaire in August 1998. Diagnosis of asthma was based on the presence of 3 symptoms of the following 5 in the preceding 12 months; cough at night, breathlessness, wheezing, persistent cough more than a week after common cold and cough and/or chest tightness during or after playing. Chi squared test and Chi squared test for trend were used for analysis. RESULTS: Prevalence of asthma symptoms were cough at night 22.1%, breathiessness 17.2%, wheezing 22.6%, persistent cough after common cold 29.9% and cough or chest tightness with playing 11%. Prevalence of asthma based on questionnaire was 17.1 %, allergic rhinitis 10% and eczema 2.5%. The prevalence of asthma in males was not significantly different from that of females (p=0.4). There was a decreasing trend of the prevalence of asthma with increasing age. This trend was significant in girls (p= 0.01) but not in boys. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one fifth of primary school children suffer from asthma and 10% have allergic rhinitis. There was no significant gender difference in Jhe prevalence of asthma in primary school children. There was a decreasing trend of the prevalence of asthma with increasing age in girls but not in boys.