INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF ASTHMA AND ALLERGIES IN CHILDHOOD - RESULTS OFTHE FIRST-PHASE OF THE ISAAC PROJECT IN PAMPLONA, SPAIN

The international study oi asthma and allergy in childhood was designe d for the epidemiological investigation of asthma, by means of a stand ardized methodology. It was started in 1989, as a consequence of very different results obtained in previous epidemiological studies, of whi ch none could be considered as definitive. First, a standardized surve y was performed in order to determine the prevalence of asthma in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, and subsequently several co untries joined them, Spain being one of them. The first objective was to discover the prevalence and severity of bronchial asthma in childre n who lived in different countries, and to compare the results. Also, it was intended to obtain baseline measurements, in order to assess fu ture trends in asthma prevalence and severity, and to facilitate a bas e for a subsequent phase of etiologic investigation. For this study, f ollowing a protocol previously established a written survey and a vide o-survey were given to children aged 13 and 14, and a written survey t o the parents of the children aged 6 and 7. Ali the surveys were perfo rmed during the school year 1993-1994. A total of 8,087 surveys were c onducted in 53 schools from Pamplona and neighbouring towns. Among the group of children aged 13 and 14, 5.3% had a crisis in the study peri od, whereas 4.4% suffered from an acute attack. This prevalence was no t as high in children aged 6 and 7, for whom the percentages were 3.3% and 3.2%, respectively. We found lower prevalences in the two groups in relation to other countries, and we attribute this result, on one h and to the accessibility to doctors in our area, and on the other hand , to early diagnosis of the disease by specialists, periodic control a nd suitable etiologic treatment.