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Frontiers of Medicine

ISSN 2095-0217

ISSN 2095-0225(Online)

CN 11-5983/R

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Front. Med.    2016, Vol. 10 Issue (3) : 345-350    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-016-0462-y
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Northeast Iran
Fatemeh Mehravar1,*(),Soheil Rafiee2,*(),Behnaz Bazrafshan3,Mahmoud Khodadost4
1. Clinical Research Development Unit (CRDU), Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran
2. Research Center of Infectious Diseases, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
3. Medical Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
4. Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science and Departments of Epidemiology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Abstract

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children, and its incidences are often imminent among elementary schoolchildren. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Northeast Iran. The prevalence rate was compared according to age group (aged 6–7 years vs. aged 13–14 years) and gender (male vs. female). In this cross-sectional study, 1706 Iranian schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Golestan Province were enrolled. Participants completed questionnaires between February and July 2014. Asthma symptoms were assessed using the questionnaire of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood protocol in Persian. The logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the asthma symptoms for each of the gender and age groups. The prevalence rates of “current asthma” symptoms and “asthma ever” in all the children were estimated as 9.5% and 7.5%, respectively. The prevalence of asthma (“asthma ever” and “wheezing in the past 12 months”) in junior high schoolchildren (aged 13–14 years) is higher than that in elementary schoolchildren (aged 6–7 years) (P <0.05). The prevalence of the severity of wheezing in girls is lower than that in boys (OR= 1.7, 95%CI= 1.06–2.96, P = 0.02). Asthma is still a major public health problem. This study shows that the prevalence of the asthma symptoms in boys is lower than that in girls in both age groups, and the severity of asthma in girls is higher than that in boys aged 13–14 years.
Keywords asthma      asthma symptoms      epidemiology      childhood      chronic disease     
Corresponding Author(s): Fatemeh Mehravar,Soheil Rafiee   
Just Accepted Date: 14 July 2016   Online First Date: 10 August 2016    Issue Date: 30 August 2016
 Cite this article:   
Fatemeh Mehravar,Soheil Rafiee,Behnaz Bazrafshan, et al. Prevalence of asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 and 13–14 years in Northeast Iran[J]. Front. Med., 2016, 10(3): 345-350.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/10.1007/s11684-016-0462-y
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/Y2016/V10/I3/345
Asthma symptoms OR (95%CI) P value Boys (n = 414) Girls (n = 364) All (n = 778)
Ever wheezed Yes 1.94 (1.14–3.29) 0.01 46 (11.1) 116 (13.6) 68 (8.7)
No 368 (88.9) 734 (86.7) 710 (91.3)
Wheeze in the past year Yes 2.05 (1.15–3.65) 0.01 40 (9.7) 18 (4.9) 58 (7.5)
No 374 (90.3) 346 (95.1) 720 (92.5)
Wheezing with exercise in the past year Yes 1.61 (0.68–2.92) 0.14 32 (7.7) 18 (4.9) 50 (6.4)
No 382 (92.3) 346 (95.1) 728 (93.6)
Persistent cough in the past year Yes 2.03 (1.04–3.97) 0.03 29 (7) 13 (3.6) 42 (5.4)
No 385 (93) 351 (96.4) 736 (94.6)
Ever had asthma Yes 1.07 (0.68–1.69) 0.07 46 (11.1) 38 (10.4) 84 (10.8)
No 368 (88.9) 326 (89.2) 694 (89.2)
Tab.1  Association of gender and asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 6–7 years (2014)
Asthma symptoms OR (95% CI) P value Boys (n = 442) Girls (n = 486) All (n = 928)
Ever wheezed Yes 0.68 (0.47–0.96) 0.03 62 (14) 94 (19.3) 156 (16.8)
No 380 (86) 392 (80.7) 772 (83.2)
Wheeze in the past year Yes 0.93 (0.62–1.40) 0.75 48 (10.9) 56 (11.5) 104 (11.2)
No 394 (89.1) 430 (88.5) 824 (88.8)
Wheezing with exercise in the past year Yes 0.86 (0.56–1.34) 0.57 40 (9) 50 (10.3) 90 (9.7)
No 420 (91.0) 436 (89.7) 838 (90.3)
Persistent cough in the past year Yes 1.23 (0.78–1.93) 0.36 44 (10) 40 (8.2) 84 (9.1)
No 398 (90) 446 (91.8) 844 (90.9)
Ever had asthma Yes 1.71 (0.51–0.97) 0.38 82 (18.6) 118 (24.3) 200 (21.6)
No 360 (81.4) 368 (75.7) 728 (78.4)
Tab.2  Association of gender and asthma symptoms in Golestan schoolchildren aged 13–14 years (2014)
Symptoms Aged 6–7 years (n = 778) Aged 13–14 years (n = 928) All (n = 1706) P value
Number of wheezing episodes in the past year None 728 (93.6) 838 (90.3) 1566 (91.9) 0.004
1 to 3 38 (4.9) 66 (7.1) 102 (6)
4 to 12 6 (0.8) 22 (2.4) 28 (1.6)
More than 12 6 (0.8) 2 (0.2) 8 (0.5)
Woken by wheeze Never woken with wheezing 746 (95.9) 864 (93.1) 1610 (94.4) 0.002
Less than one night per week 30 (3.9) 44 (4.7) 74 (4.3)
One or more nights per week 2 (0.3) 20 (2.2) 22 (1.3)
Speech limitations during wheezing Yes 12 (1.5) 54 (5.8) 66 (3.9) 0.000
No 766 (98.5) 874 (94.2) 1640 (96.1)
Tab.3  Prevalence of reported symptoms (%) indicating severity of asthma in Golestan schoolchildren (2014)
Symptoms Boys (n = 856) Girls (n = 850) All (n = 1706) P value
Number of wheezing episodes in the past year None 784 (91.6) 782 (92) 1566 (91.9) 0.03
1 to 3 46 (5.4) 58 (6.8) 102 (6)
4 to 12 20 (2.3) 8 (0.9) 28 (1.6)
More than 12 6 (0.7) 2 (0.2) 8 (0.5)
Woken by wheeze Never woken with wheezing 796 (93) 814 (95.8) 1610 (94.4) 0.03
Less than one night per week 48 (5.6) 26 (3.1) 74 (4.3)
One or more nights per week 12 (1.4) 10 (1.2) 22 (1.3)
Speech limitations during wheezing Yes 42 (4.9) 24 (2.8) 66 (3.9) 0.02
No 814 (95.1) 826 (97.2) 1640 (96.1)
Tab.4  Prevalence of reported symptoms (%) indicating severity of asthma in Golestan schoolchildren (2014)
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