Study of Prevalence and Risk Factors of Bronchial Asthma in School Children in Urban and Rural Areas of Kakinada

Abstract

In India the prevalence of asthma has increased over the last two decades, especially in children. There is scarcity of data on prevalence of asthma in school children. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of asthma in school going children aged 9-14 years in the town of Kakinada, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh and determine the risk factors associated with it. METHODSFrom the listed many schools of urban and rural areas of Kakinada, 4 schools (i.e. 2 urban schools, 2 rural schools) were selected randomly. Total of 1117 students were thus selected from the four schools and the questionnaires were distributed to all of them, among them parents of 997 children responded. The questionnaire included the validated ISAAC screening questions and some other questions related to risk factors of asthma. RESULTSOverall, prevalence of bronchial asthma in this study was 15%. The prevalence of asthma in urban and rural areas was 16.8% and 13.4% respectively. The prevalence of asthma in boys and girls was 17.7% and 12.6% respectively. The prevalence of bronchial asthma in age group 9-11 years was 21.1% and in age group 12-14 years was 9%. The risk factors significantly associated with asthma were family history of asthma and tobacco smoking, personal history of allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis. CONCLUSIONSUrban areas had higher prevalence compared to rural areas. Boys (17.7%) had higher prevalence compared to girls (12.6%). Significant inverse linear association was found with increasing age as prevalence of asthma in age group 9-11 years (21.1%) was higher than 12-14 years' age group (9%). KEYWORDSAsthma, Prevalence, Risk Factors. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:Rambabu B, Chandran CNM, Prasad AK, et al. Study of prevalence and risk factors of bronchial asthma in school children in urban and rural areas of Kakinada.

Effect of Acupressure Sessions on Dyspnea and Fatigue among Patients with Bronchial Asthma.

“…As the majority of the patients in the present study were living in urban areas. This was in accordance with (Rambabu et al, 2016) who stated that urban areas had higher prevalence of asthma compared to rural areas. While (Keet et al, 2017) who reported that residence is an important risk factor for asthma morbidity in rural and urban areas.…”