PREVALENCE OF ASTHMA AT SCHOOL-AGE - A CLINICAL POPULATION-BASED STUDY IN EASTERN FINLAND

A questionnaire aimed at-screening and identifying patients with asthm atic symptoms was sent to the parents of 2011 children aged 7: to 12 y ears; 1633 (81%) returned the questionnaire. A clinical examination wa s given to 165 symptomatic End 82 non-symptomatic children. The childr en were classified into three groups: 1, clinical asthma (n = 43); 2, other symptoms from lower airways (OSLA) (n = 34); 3, healthy children (n = 170). The prevalences of asthma and OSLA in the whole source pop ulation (n = 1633) were then estimated based on these figures. The lif etime prevalence of asthma was 4.0%. All children with asthma were eit her symptomatic or on continuous maintenance therapy during the preced ing 12 months. The lifetime prevalence of OSLA was 5.0%, with 3.0% bei ng symptomatic during the preceding 12 months. Asthma was more common in boys (5.0%) than in girls (2.8%). The respective figures for OSLA w ere 6.2 and 3.7%. The occurrence of asthma as well as respiratory symp toms suggestive of asthma was more common than previously observed in this area.