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The changing prevalence of asthma‐like respiratory symptoms in South Australian rural schoolchildren
Author(s) -
CROCKETT A. J.,
CRANSTON J. M.,
ALPERS J. H.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1995.tb00788.x
Subject(s) - wheeze , medicine , asthma , demography , pediatrics , prevalence , cross sectional study , rural area , epidemiology , environmental health , pathology , sociology
Objectives: To describe the changing prevalence of wheezy breathing and doctor‐diagnosed asthma, as obtained by questionnaire data, from the years 1984‐92 in a sample of South Australian rural schoolchildren. Methodology A cross‐sectional study of three populations of schoolchildren from the South Australian rural towns of Burra (mid‐north), Gladstone (mid‐north) and Kingston (southern, coastal). The cumulative or lifetime prevalences and the 12‐month period prevalence (current) of respiratory symptoms were estimated from questionnaire data obtained from parental responses for 1032 schoolchildren aged from 5 to 18 years, and compared with prevalences obtained from a previous study. Results The overall cumulative prevalence of wheezy breathing in 1992 was 36.2%, an increase from 24.1% in 1984 with a 12‐month period prevalence of 25.0%. The 1992 cumulative prevalence of doctor‐diagnosed asthma was 23.3%. There was no difference in the prevalence of wheeze between the three rural regions studied. A trend to a higher prevalence of doctor‐diagnosed asthma in one of the three regions was thought to be due to medical specialist input. Conclusions The cumulative prevalence for wheeze among school‐age children in South Australian rural communities has increased in the period 1984‐92. There were no regional differences in the cumulative prevalence rates. The results confirm previous studies in Victoria and New South Wales.