title: Burden of asthma among inner-city children from Southern Brazil.
abstract: To assess the impact of asthma in a population of inner-city Brazilian children.
  
  
  
  In a cross-sectional study, we selected children with asthma and healthy controls from public schools (8-16 years) from a capital city of Southern Brazil. Divided into three phases, questionnaires were administered, assessing lung function, body mass index and allergic sensitization.
  
  
  
  From 2500 children initially included in the study (48.4% males; mean age of 11.42 ± 2.32 years), asthma prevalence was detected in 28.6% (715/2500). The disease was not controlled in 42.7% (305/715) of the children, with 7.6% of hospitalization rate. School absenteeism (at least one day of missing school because of asthma) and sedentary behavior were high (57.1 and 67.2%, respectively), with 47.9% of subjects requiring oral steroids in the previous year, and physical well-being significantly lower than controls, directly interfering with quality of life, and therefore in the daily activities of these students. Moreover, 38% of the parents admitted to being non-adherent to treatment with their children and 31.1 and 53.6%, respectively, believed that rescue medication and exercise might be harmful.
  
  
  
  The burden of asthma in Brazilian children seems to be substantial. New international guidelines with a special focus in developing countries settings, with more pragmatic approaches, should be a priority for discussion and implementation actions.
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roncada
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Suelen Goecks
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Simone Falcão
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Cidade
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Edgar Enrique
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Sarria
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mattiello
authors.affiliation: b School of Nursery, Nutrition and Physiotherapy, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz Sebben
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Ojeda
authors.affiliation: b School of Nursery, Nutrition and Physiotherapy, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz Regina Lara
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: b School of Nursery, Nutrition and Physiotherapy, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréia da Silva
authors.initials: Ada S
authors.lastname: Gustavo
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Leonardo Araújo
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Marcus Herbert
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Renato Tetelbom
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: a Infant Center, Institute of Biomedical Research, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) , Porto Alegre - RS , Brazil , and.
authors.forename: Paulo Márcio
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Pitrez
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D000485:Allergens / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D039981:Pyroglyphidae / Q000276:immunology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012574:Schools; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012882:Skin Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens
keywords: Atopy; Latin America; allergy; childhood; prevalence