Ej. Silver et al., BURDEN OF WHEEZING ILLNESS AMONG US CHILDREN REPORTED BY PARENTS NOT TO HAVE ASTHMA, The Journal of asthma, 35(5), 1998, pp. 437-443
We examined the 12-month prevalence of asthma and wheezing among U.S.
children and compared the illness-related burden of children who wheez
ed with and without an asthma diagnosis. Data were obtained in a cross
-sectional telephone survey that tested the performance of a health in
terview designed to identify children with chronic health conditions.
Respondents were 712 primary caretakers of 1388 children under 18 year
s old in a national probability sample selected by random-digit dialin
g. Although 51 children identified with asthma and wheezing had more e
pisodes, sleep disturbances, and attacks that limited speech, and rece
ived more medical treatment for wheezing than 69 children with wheezin
g alone, the ''undiagnosed'' children appeared to be only somewhat les
s affected by their wheezing. Repeat episodes and burden experienced b
y children with wheezing alone suggest that the asthma prevalence may
be underestimated if based only on the diagnostic label.