title: Under-recognition of childhood asthma in Singapore: evidence from a questionnaire survey.
abstract: In a recent study on the prevalence of childhood asthma and allergies using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires, 6238 Singapore school children in two age-groups, 6-7 years (n = 2030) and 12-15 years (n = 4208), were evaluated. Of the 1856 children who reported asthma-like symptoms (wheezing, exercise-wheezing, persistent nocturnal cough), 919 (49%) had not been diagnosed asthmatic. Of these undiagnosed children, 731 (39%) reported current symptoms of asthma. Under-recognition of asthma was more prevalent among those with persistent nocturnal cough and mild symptoms. In addition, the discordance between wheezing in the last 12 months and a diagnosis of asthma was significantly higher among the younger age-group (6-7 years), but exercise-induced wheezing was less recognized as a symptom of asthma among the older age-group (12-15 years). This study has shown that there is a substantial degree of under-recognition of asthma among school children in Singapore.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, National University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: F T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires