Abstract
BACKGROUND: Primary health care workers have reported an impression that asthma is commoner among Asian than European children, and a cross sectional survey was designed to compare the prevalence in Asian and European children. METHODS: The survey was carried out in children aged 7-11 in eight primary schools in Southampton. Four schools contained predominantly children of European ancestry, two contained predominantly Asian children, and two contained a mixture of ethnic groups. Data were collected by means of parent completed questionnaire on recent asthma symptoms, diagnosis, morbidity, and treatment from 759 European and 274 Asian children. RESULTS: The prevalence of reported wheeze in the previous 12 months was higher among European (19.6%) than Asian children (11.9%), as was the prevalence of a night cough (European 64.2%, Asian 42.3%). Although the prevalence of diagnosed asthma was higher in European (12%) than Asian (6.2%) children, a slightly higher proportion of Asian than European children with current wheeze had visited their doctor (European 66.9%, Asian 78.1%, not significant) or been admitted to hospital for wheezing (European 4.8%, Asian 6.5%) in the previous 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: This study failed to demonstrate a higher prevalence of asthma among Asian than European children in Southampton.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Ayres J. G. Acute asthma in Asian patients: hospital admissions and duration of stay in a district with a high immigrant population. Br J Dis Chest. 1986 Jul;80(3):242–248. doi: 10.1016/0007-0971(86)90059-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Donaldson L. J., Taylor J. B. Patterns of Asian and non-Asian morbidity in hospitals. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 Mar 19;286(6369):949–951. doi: 10.1136/bmj.286.6369.949. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hill R. A., Standen P. J., Tattersfield A. E. Asthma, wheezing, and school absence in primary schools. Arch Dis Child. 1989 Feb;64(2):246–251. doi: 10.1136/adc.64.2.246. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Johnston I. D., Bland J. M., Anderson H. R. Ethnic variation in respiratory morbidity and lung function in childhood. Thorax. 1987 Jul;42(7):542–548. doi: 10.1136/thx.42.7.542. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lee D. A., Winslow N. R., Speight A. N., Hey E. N. Prevalence and spectrum of asthma in childhood. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 Apr 16;286(6373):1256–1258. doi: 10.1136/bmj.286.6373.1256. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Melia R. J., Chinn S., Rona R. J. Respiratory illness and home environment of ethnic groups. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1988 May 21;296(6634):1438–1441. doi: 10.1136/bmj.296.6634.1438. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Milner A. D., Hoskyns E. W. High frequency positive pressure ventilation in neonates. Arch Dis Child. 1989 Jan;64(1 Spec No):1–3. doi: 10.1136/adc.64.1_spec_no.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shaw R. A., Crane J., Pearce N., Burgess C. D., Bremner P., Woodman K., Beasley R. Comparison of a video questionnaire with the IUATLD written questionnaire for measuring asthma prevalence. Clin Exp Allergy. 1992 May;22(5):561–568. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1992.tb00166.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith J. M., Harding L. K., Cumming G. The changing prevalence of asthma in school children. Clin Allergy. 1971 Mar;1(1):57–61. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1971.tb02447.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith J. M. The prevalence of asthma and wheezing in children. Br J Dis Chest. 1976 Apr;70(2):73–77. doi: 10.1016/0007-0971(76)90009-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]