Epidemiology characteristics of bronchial asthma in children aged 0-14 years old in Tianjin urban

Abstract

Objective To explore the prevalence and correlative factors of childhood asthma in urban areas in Tianjin, and to assess the influence of asthma on patients' social life and their families. Methods A cluster random survey of asthma was conducted among the children in Tianjin.The respondents were 0-14 years old children (birth on Jul.1, 1995 to Jun.30, 2010) in Tianjin. Results Totally 12 748 subjects were investigated by means of questionnaires to the parents, among whom 355 children were diagnosed as asthma(294 as typical asthma, 61 as cough variant asthma), and the male/female ratio was 1.56︰1.00.The total prevalence rate of asthma in Tianjin urban children was 2.78%(355/12 748 cases), while the 2 years prevalence rate was 2.14%(273/12 748 cases), and they were significantly higher than 10 years ago, and 48.45%(172/355 cases) of the children had their onset less than 3 years old.Asthmatic attack occurred more often during December to February, and respiratory tract infection was main inducement, and most frequently precursory symptoms were runny nose and sneezing, while the symptoms during attack were usually cough and wheezing, and 57.46%(204/355 cases) of the patients with asthma had history of allergic rhinitis.For 96.34%(263/273 cases) of the patients, their family members' work was affected because of their asthma attacks, and 252 patients(70.99%, 252/355 cases) had used inhaler corticosteroid, and 57.18%(203/355 cases) of the patients had used antibiotics. Conclusions There has been a significantly increasing trend of asthma prevalence during the 10 years in all age group.From the data of present survey it was inferred that there had been certain improvement, though it was not ideal in the accuracy of diagnosis and in the practice of steroid inhalation therapy by the pediatricians in Tianjin. Key words: Asthma; Prevalence; Child