Prevalence of bronchial asthma in rural Indian children: a cross sectional study from South India.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence and to study the socio-demographic correlates of bronchial asthma among children aged 6-15 yr.


METHODS
This is a cross-sectional community based study conducted by interview of parents of randomly selected 559 children using an International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire.


RESULTS
The prevalence of bronchial asthma was found to be 10.3%. The prevalence of asthma was higher among boys (12.1%). There was a significant inverse linear trend with increasing age. A statistically significant association of bronchial asthma with family history of asthma was also observed.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a high prevalence of bronchial asthma among children with a higher prevalence among boys than girls. There were significant inverse linear association with increasing age and also with family history of asthma. Efforts should be directed towards screening and early detection among the children, especially those of parents with history of asthma to enable treatment and reduce morbidity.
Jain
Animesh
A
Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College (Manipal University), Mangalore, 575 001, India. animesh_j@yahoo.com
Vinod Bhat
H
H
Acharya
Das
D
D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires