Prevalence of asthma symptoms and atopic disorders in preschool children and the trend over a decade.

OBJECTIVES

Over the last few decades, there have been substantial publications on the prevalence and trends of asthma in school-age children and adolescents. There has been a scarcity of reports on asthma prevalence and trends in preschool children. This study was performed to measure the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema in preschool (4- and 5-year-old) children and the trend over a decade.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional questionnaire based survey using the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) was performed on South Australian preschool children in 2006. The results were compared to a previous survey conducted in 1993.

RESULTS

The 12-month period prevalence of reported wheeze, allergic rhinitis, and eczema was 23.7%, 20.8%, and 18.8%, respectively. The prevalence of wheeze symptoms was higher in males than females. There was a decline in the prevalence of "wheeze in the last 12 months" (25.2% to 23.7%) and in "asthma ever" (22.5% to 19.0%, p < 0.05) from 1993 to 2006.

CONCLUSION

There is a burden in the symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema in preschool children. There is a declining trend in the prevalence of "current wheeze" and "asthma ever" in South Australian preschool children over a decade.