科研之友
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摘要
background: asthma is considered the most common chronic childhood disease. however, there have been few studies on the prevalence of asthma in brazil. objective: to assess the prevalence and severity of asthma symptoms in school-age children and adolescents living in the city of duque de caxias, located in the greater metropolitan area of rio de janeiro. method: cross-sectional transversal study using the international study of asthma and allergies in childhood (isaac) questionnaire. the sample comprised students of 6, 7, 13 and 14 years of age. results: one group of 2334 students between the ages of 6 and 7 and another composed of 4040 students between the ages of 13 and 14 were evaluated. the prevalence of wheezing within the last 12 months in the younger children was 27.7%, vs. 19% among the adolescents (p %26lt; 0.0001). there was a predominance of males in the 6-7 age group (29.9% vs. 25.6%; p = 0.01) and of females in the 13-14 age group (21.9% vs. 15.8%; p %26lt; 0.0001). the proportion of previously diagnosed cases of asthma was similar (approximately 10%) for both age brackets. wheezing upon physical exertion was more prevalent among the adolescents (21.4% vs. 7.8%; p %26lt; 0.0001). symptom severity was higher among female adolescents (severe asthma: 6.6% vs. 4.4%; p = 0.001), although no differences among genders were seen in the 6-7 age group. conclusion: asthma prevalence in duque de caxias is high, as it is in other brazilian and latin american cities. values are higher in the 6-7 age group, in which symptoms were seen predominantly in males. among the adolescents, the prevalence and severity of symptoms were higher in females, a recent observation that seems to be a new epidemiological trend of asthma.
