Asthma-like disease in the children living in the neighborhood of Mt. Sakurajima.
We conducted self-administered questionnaire surveys of school children living in the vicinity of Mt. Sakurajima using ATS-DLD questionnaire. In this paper, we report the results of analysis comparing the proportion of children with asthma-like disease in the area exposed to the volcanic ash and gases released by Mt. Sakurajima and control areas. Asthma-like disease was ascertained using ATS-DLD questionnaire and the definition proposed by the study group established by Environmental Protection Agency in Japan. The proportion of children with asthma-like disease was not different between the exposed and control groups. The odds ratio of asthma-like disease comparing the exposed and control groups was 1.1 and its 95% confidence interval was 0.7-1.8 (P = 0.583). When the exposed area was divided into Tarumizu city. Sakurajima town and Kagoshima city, none of them showed an elevated proportion of children with asthma-like disease when compared with the control area. In the entire study population including both the exposed and control groups, the proportion of children with asthma-like disease was 6 and 3% in boys and girls, respectively. These values were quite similar to those obtained from a survey of 45,674 school children in western districts in Japan in 1992. In conclusion, the present study indicates that the proportion of children with asthma-like disease is not elevated in the exposed area. Further investigations are necessary to confirm our conclusions.
Uda
H
H
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Japan.
Akiba
S
S
Hatano
H
H
Shinkura
R
R
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D019371:Topography, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018707:Volcanic Eruptions / Q000009:adverse effects*
D000393:Air Pollutants