PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - C D Pararajasingam
AU  - L Sittampalam
AU  - P Damani
AU  - P K Pattemore
AU  - S T Holgate
TI  - Comparison of the prevalence of asthma among Asian and European children in Southampton.
AID  - 10.1136/thx.47.7.529
DP  - 1992 Jul 01
TA  - Thorax
PG  - 529--532
VI  - 47
IP  - 7
4099  - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/47/7/529.short
4100  - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/47/7/529.full
SO  - Thorax1992 Jul 01; 47
AB  - BACKGROUND: Primary health care workers have reported an impression that asthma is commoner among Asian than European children, and a cross sectional survey was designed to compare the prevalence in Asian and European children. METHODS: The survey was carried out in children aged 7-11 in eight primary schools in Southampton. Four schools contained predominantly children of European ancestry, two contained predominantly Asian children, and two contained a mixture of ethnic groups. Data were collected by means of parent completed questionnaire on recent asthma symptoms, diagnosis, morbidity, and treatment from 759 European and 274 Asian children. RESULTS: The prevalence of reported wheeze in the previous 12 months was higher among European (19.6%) than Asian children (11.9%), as was the prevalence of a night cough (European 64.2%, Asian 42.3%). Although the prevalence of diagnosed asthma was higher in European (12%) than Asian (6.2%) children, a slightly higher proportion of Asian than European children with current wheeze had visited their doctor (European 66.9%, Asian 78.1%, not significant) or been admitted to hospital for wheezing (European 4.8%, Asian 6.5%) in the previous 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: This study failed to demonstrate a higher prevalence of asthma among Asian than European children in Southampton.