title: Prevalence and Treatment of Children's Asthma in Rural Areas Compared with Urban Areas in Beijing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of childhood asthma has been increasing in China. This study aimed to compare the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of asthmatic children from urban and rural areas in Beijing, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Schools, communities, and kindergartens were randomly selected by cluster random sampling from urban and rural areas in Beijing. Parents were surveyed by the same screening questionnaires. On-the-spot inquiries, physical examinations, medical records, and previous test results were used to diagnose asthmatic children. Information on previous diagnoses, treatments, and control of symptoms was obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 7209 children in rural areas and 13,513 children in urban areas who completed screening questionnaires, 587 children were diagnosed as asthma. The prevalence of asthma in rural areas was lower than in urban areas (1.25% vs. 3.68%, χ2 = 100.80, P < 0.001). The diagnosis of asthma in rural areas was lower than in urban areas (48.9% vs. 73.9%, χ2 = 34.6, P < 0.001). Compared with urban asthmatic children (56.5%), only 35.6% of rural asthmatic children received inhaled corticosteroids (P < 0.05). The use of bronchodilators was also lower in rural areas than in urban areas (56.5% vs. 66.4%, χ2 = 14.2, P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of asthma in children was lower in rural areas compared with children in the urban area of Beijing. A considerable number of children were not diagnosed and inadequately treated in rural areas.
authors: Wen-Jing
authors: WJ
authors: Zhu
authors: Hai-Xia
authors: HX
authors: Ma
authors: Hui-Ying
authors: HY
authors: Cui
authors: Xu
authors: X
authors: Lu
authors: Ming-Jun
authors: MJ
authors: Shao
authors: Shuo
authors: S
authors: Li
authors: Yan-Qing
authors: YQ
authors: Luo
authors: Qiang
authors: Q
authors: Wang
authors: Chun-Yu
authors: CY
authors: Xu
authors: Dong-Qun
authors: DQ
authors: Xu
authors: Center for Asthma Prevention and Education, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
authors: Chuan-He
authors: CH
authors: Liu
authors: Yu-Zhi
authors: YZ
authors: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000068476:Beijing / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones