Asthma in children: Prevalence, treatment, and sensitization

This study compares the prevalence of asthma and sensitization in children from two Swedish regions with different climates: Goteborg on the southwest coast and Kiruna in the northern inland, north of the Arctic Circle. The 4 12 children of a population-based sample, 203 in Goteborg and 209 in Kiruna , were investigated at age 7-8 and 12-13 years. Questionnaire reports and i nterviews were obtained from all children at 7-8 years of age, and 192 chil dren were skin-prick tested for common aeroallergens in Goteborg and 205 in Kiruna. At the follow-up, 5 years later, almost all the children were re-i nvestigated. The prevalence of asthma, wheeze, and sensitization had increa sed with increasing age during the follow-up period. The questionnaire repo rts revealed that the prevalence of asthma was 8.5% at 12-13 years of age. All children who in the questionnaire reported current asthma, were using a sthma medication. The interviews indicated that the prevalence of a clinica lly significant asthma might be even higher, reaching approximate to 12%. A sthma and wheeze were as common in Goteborg as in Kiruna despite large diff erences in prevalence of sensitization. Sensitization, and especially sensi tization to animals, was far more common in Kiruna than in Goteborg. This s tudy shows that asthma and wheeze are increasingly prevalent even in school age children and that sensitization does not necessarily reflect the preva lence of asthma in a population.