[Epidemiology of childhood asthma in the department of Calvados].

A survey was conducted in 1707 sixth grade school children in the Calvados department of France. A self-administered questionnaire was filled out by the children in the presence of a school nurse. The cumulative prevalence of asthma was 14.9%. There was no significant difference between children living in urban or rural areas. There was however a significant difference by sex: 18% of the boys had asthma and 11% of the girls. The cumulative prevalence of wheezing was 25.4% (current prevalence 12.9%). The current prevalence of dry nocturnal cough, respiratory infections excluded, was 33.3%; that of exercise-induced asthma, 27%. Severity was evaluated on the basis of the number of wheezing episodes since the beginning of the school year (> 3 episodes: 4.5%), the number of awakenings at night per week (several per week: 2.2%), and aggravations severe enough to bother speech (4.3%). The rate of missed school days was 18.5% and that of asthma-related hospitalization 1.8%. One asthmatic child out of 4 had undergone pulmonary function tests and 1 out of 2 had a specific treatment for asthma. The high prevalence of childhood asthma in Calvados, with high morbidity, a significant number of missed school days, the exceptional nature of satisfactory pulmonary function testing, and the inconsistency of specific treatments, emphasizes the need for educational programs for parents and their family and improved physician training.