Prevalence of respiratory symptoms in children and air quality by village in rural Indonesia.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared prevalence of respiratory symptoms in three Indonesian villages and related this to air quality.


METHODS
We interviewed caregivers of 382 children, using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, and monitored air quality during the survey period.


RESULTS
Respiratory symptom prevalence was highest in Kerinci (40.5%), followed by SP7 (33.3%) and Pelalawan (19.8%). Compared with Pelalawan, adjusted odds ratios were 3.17 (95% confidence interval, 1.43-7.07) for Kerinci, and 2.03 (1.04-3.96) for SP7. Ambient air quality levels were highest in Kerinci for PM10 and hydrocarbon (means: 102.9 microg/m3, 10.5 microg/m3), followed by SP7 (73.7 microg/m3, 6.3 microg/m3) and Pelalawan (26.1 microg/m3, 4.7 microg/m3).


CONCLUSIONS
The higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms in Kerinci and SP7 could be the result of higher PM10 and hydrocarbon levels in these locations.
Hong
Ching-Ye
CY
Special Projects Department, Research & Information Management Division, Health Promotion Board, Singapore.
Chia
Sin-Eng
SE
Widjaja
Daniel
D
Saw
Seang-Mei
SM
Lee
Jeannette
J
Munoz
Canesio
C
Koh
David
D
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012424:Rural Population; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000393:Air Pollutants