Asthma prevalence and severity among primary-school children in Baghdad.
To measure asthma prevalence and severity among children in Baghdad, we randomly sampled 3360 primary-school children and had their parents complete standardized questionnaires. The response rate was 86%, male to female ratio was 0.75:1 and age range was 6-12 years. Prevalence of wheezing ever was 25.0%. Wheezing during the last 12 months was 19.9% and 2.9% of the children had more than 12 attacks. Parents reported nocturnal wheezing for 16.3% of the children and severe attacks that limited speech for 10.5%. Prevalence of asthma ever was 22.3%. Asthma was detected in 81.9% of those with wheezing in the last 12 months. Males were predominant among children with wheezing ever, whereas females were predominant among children with asthma ever. Prevalence rates of asthma and of severe asthma symptoms decreased with increasing age.
Department of Paediatrics, Iraqi College of Medicine, Baghdad, Iraq.
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D
Al-Thamiri
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Al-Kubaisy
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Ali
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001249:Asthma / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*