title: A profile of respiratory symptoms in urban and rural South Australian school children.
abstract: This report describes the cross-sectional analyses of data from the first year of a longitudinal study using questionnaire and respiratory function data over a 5 year period from a sample of rural South Australian school children. The cumulative or lifetime prevalences of respiratory symptoms were estimated in 825 rural and 1261 urban school children aged between 5 and 15 years in order to determine if the prevalence rates differed between rural and urban school children. The study found the overall cumulative prevalence of asthma and/or wheezy breathing (AWB) to be 24.1% in the rural school children compared to 27.6% in the urban school children. Most children developed AWB symptoms before the age of 7 years, with 20% reporting moderately severe symptoms and 10% having more than one attack per fortnight. The cumulative prevalence of bronchitis, loose/rattly cough (BLRC) differed significantly between the rural school children (34.1%) and urban school children (47.9%). The BLRC symptoms preceded the development of AWB in many cases. Urban school children also reported a higher prevalence of atopic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Crockett
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Alpers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D013021:South Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population