Abu-Ekteish Faisal, Otoom Sameer, Shehabi Iman
Department of Pediatrics, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Allergy Asthma Proc. 2009 Mar-Apr;30(2):181-5. doi: 10.2500/aap.2009.30.3208.
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare the prevalence of asthma and its symptoms in children aged 6-7 years and 13-14 years in an urban (Amman city) area and among Bedouins in northern Jordan. The number of students included in both studied groups was 9108. This study is part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), phase III. The response rate was 84% for urban schoolchildren compared with 68% among Bedouin schoolchildren. There was no statistical significance in prevalence of asthma diagnosed by a physician between the Amman city group and Bedouins (8.8% versus 9.5%). Wheeze induced by exercise and night cough was significantly common in schoolchildren aged 13-14 years compared with primary schoolchildren (18.5 and 25.3% versus 11.1 and 22.6%; p < 0.001). Wheezing ever and sleep disturbances were significantly more common in male subjects (27.5%, p < 0.01, and 12.2%, p < 0.001, respectively). Primary schoolchildren aged 6-7 years had significant wheezing ever (27.2%) compared with older children (25.1%; p < 0.05). Bedouin children had significant exercise-induced wheeze (16.4%) compared with children in Amman city (13.1%, p < 0.001), but the latter had significant prevalence of night cough (25%) compared with the Bedouin group (22.6%; p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study shows that asthma is moderately common in Jordan. There was no difference in prevalence of asthma diagnosed by a physician between an urbanized region and Bedouins having low socioeconomic status. Asthma was common in male children, which is similar to other reports elsewhere. There is a twofold increase in the prevalence of asthma in Jordan in the last 10 years.
这项横断面研究的目的是比较约旦北部城市地区（安曼市）6至7岁和13至14岁儿童以及贝都因人中哮喘及其症状的患病率。两个研究组纳入的学生人数为9108名。本研究是儿童哮喘和过敏国际研究（ISAAC）第三阶段的一部分。城市学童的回应率为84%，而贝都因学童的回应率为68%。安曼市组和贝都因人中经医生诊断的哮喘患病率无统计学差异（8.8%对9.5%）。与小学生相比，13至14岁的学童中运动诱发的喘息和夜间咳嗽明显更为常见（分别为18.5%和25.3%对11.1%和22.6%；p<0.001）。曾经喘息和睡眠障碍在男性受试者中明显更为常见（分别为27.5%，p<0.01，和12.2%，p<0.001）。6至7岁的小学生曾经喘息的比例显著高于年龄较大的儿童（27.2%对25.1%；p<0.05）。与安曼市的儿童相比，贝都因儿童运动诱发的喘息显著较高（16.4%）（13.1%，p<0.001），但后者夜间咳嗽的患病率显著高于贝都因组（25%对22.6%；p<0.01）。总之，本研究表明哮喘在约旦较为常见。在城市化地区和社会经济地位较低的贝都因人中，经医生诊断的哮喘患病率没有差异。哮喘在男童中较为常见，这与其他地方的报道相似。在过去10年中，约旦哮喘的患病率增加了两倍。
