Table 1 Summary regional and global estimates for changes in the prevalence of self‐reported asthma symptoms (written questionnaire) between phase I and phase III: percentage change in symptom prevalence per year (and phase III symptom prevalence percentage).
| Centre | Phase I (n) | Phase III (n) | 12 month prevalence | Ever had asthma | Ever had asthma and current wheeze | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeze | ⩾4 Attacks | Wheeze disturbs sleep | Severe wheeze limiting speech | Exercise wheeze | Night cough | |||||
| 13–14‐year‐old children | ||||||||||
| Africa | 28554 | 28397 | 0.16 (13.4) | 0.06 (4.0) | 0.05 (3.5) | 0.02 (5.9) | 0.44 (24.7) | 0.91 (30.5) | 0.07 (11.9) | −0.01 (5.2) |
| Asia‐Pacific | 66222 | 57389 | 0.07 (8.8) | 0.00 (2.3) | 0.01 (0.7) | −0.02 (2.1) | 0.42 (17.0) | 0.49 (20.6) | 0.39 (12.6) | 0.04 (4.0) |
| Eastern Mediterranean | 16109 | 19887 | −0.10 (11.6) | −0.04 (2.7) | −0.04 (2.2) | −0.05 (3.9) | −0.11 (15.0) | 0.22 (23.4) | 0.11 (10.9) | 0.00 (3.7) |
| Indian subcontinent | 22120 | 20767 | 0.02 (6.4) | −0.09 (2.1) | −0.04 (1.1) | −0.15 (2.6) | −0.05 (6.9) | −0.38 (20.0) | −0.01 (6.1) | 0.01 (3.1) |
| Latin America | 46209 | 44550 | 0.32 (18.8) | 0.02 (3.6) | −0.01 (2.7) | −0.02 (4.6) | 0.13 (21.3) | 0.83 (35.1) | 0.25 (16.1) | 0.12 (8.2) |
| North America | 5863 | 4920 | 0.12 (21.5) | −0.02 (4.9) | 0.04 (3.1) | 0.11 (7.0) | 0.20 (24.9) | 0.00 (21.1) | 0.71 (22.5) | 0.10 (13.2) |
| Northern and Eastern Europe | 36508 | 32608 | 0.26 (11.6) | 0.08 (2.3) | 0.01 (0.8) | 0.08 (2.2) | 0.30 (14.3) | 0.41 (14.0) | 0.29 (5.9) | 0.10 (2.5) |
| Oceania | 15460 | 13317 | −0.39 (26.7) | −0.38 (6.2) | −0.05 (2.6) | −0.21 (6.2) | −0.29 (37.5) | −0.01 (28.9) | 0.93 (32.4) | 0.16 (17.0) |
| Western Europe | 85969 | 82844 | −0.07 (15.2) | −0.05 (3.7) | −0.02 (1.6) | −0.02 (3.8) | 0.03 (20.3) | 0.64 (29.3) | 0.33 (16.3) | 0.07 (7.7) |
| Global total | 323014 | 304679 | 0.06 (13.7) | −0.02 (3.3) | −0.01 (1.8) | −0.01 (3.7) | 0.15 (19.2) | 0.51 (25.8) | 0.28 (13.8) | 0.06 (6.2) |
| 6–7‐year‐old children | ||||||||||
| Africa | 1696 | 2396 | 0.10 (5.6) | 0.02 (2.8) | 0.04 (2.3) | 0.14 (4.8) | −0.18 (5.4) | −0.18 (8.0) | −0.01 (3.3) | −0.10 (1.1) |
| Asia‐Pacific | 40516 | 43403 | −0.06 (8.9) | −0.09 (1.8) | −0.04 (0.6) | −0.04 (1.2) | −0.10 (4.5) | 0.47 (20.6) | 0.12 (11.4) | −0.04 (4.9) |
| Eastern Mediterranean | 12853 | 13990 | 0.79 (11.7) | 0.10 (2.3) | 0.10 (2.3) | 0.04 (1.9) | 0.19 (4.9) | 0.36 (15.7) | 0.28 (9.1) | 0.17 (4.6) |
| Indian subcontinent | 16981 | 18877 | 0.06 (6.8) | −0.07 (1.0) | −0.06 (0.7) | −0.09 (1.8) | −0.04 (4.0) | −0.17 (12.5) | −0.05 (5.2) | 0.02 (3.8) |
| Latin America | 21467 | 21112 | 0.07 (21.4) | 0.09 (5.0) | −0.03 (3.6) | −0.05 (4.9) | −0.05 (10.3) | 0.63 (34.4) | −0.15 (13.2) | −0.03 (9.0) |
| North America | 5707 | 4014 | 0.32 (19.1) | 0.01 (4.1) | 0.04 (3.0) | 0.04 (2.9) | 0.22 (8.3) | 0.34 (16.3) | 0.74 (20.0) | 0.37 (13.4) |
| Northern and Eastern Europe | 24196 | 21984 | 0.05 (9.6) | 0.04 (2.3) | 0.00 (1.2) | 0.02 (1.5) | 0.06 (4.5) | 0.33 (13.0) | 0.23 (4.5) | 0.13 (2.7) |
| Oceania | 14233 | 13841 | −0.21 (21.8) | −0.16 (7.0) | −0.04 (3.0) | −0.12 (3.6) | −0.08 (15.1) | −0.08 (28.4) | 0.42 (29.2) | 0.01 (16.8) |
| Western Europe | 60100 | 53787 | 0.20 (9.7) | 0.03 (2.1) | −0.01 (1.5) | 0.03 (1.7) | 0.09 (4.6) | 0.65 (20.7) | 0.25 (9.1) | 0.12 (4.5) |
| Global total | 197749 | 193404 | 0.13 (11.6) | −0.01 (2.7) | −0.02 (1.6) | −0.01 (2.1) | 0.04 (6.0) | 0.43 (20.4) | 0.18 (10.8) | 0.07 (5.7) |