Eur Respir J. 1998 Aug;12(2):315-35. doi: 10.1183/09031936.98.12020315.
The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) was designed to allow comparisons between populations in different countries. ISAAC Phase One, reported here, used standardized simple surveys which were conducted among representative samples of school children from centres in most regions of the world. Two age groups (13-14 and 6-7 yrs) with approximately 3,000 children in each group were studied in each centre. The 13-14 yr olds (n=463,801) were studied in 155 centres (56 countries) and the 6-7 yr olds (n=257,800) were studied in 91 centres (38 countries). There were marked variations in the prevalence of asthma symptoms with up to 15-fold differences between countries. The prevalence of wheeze in the last 12 months ranged from 2.1-32.2% in the older age group and 4.1-32.1% in the younger age group and was particularly high in English speaking countries and Latin America. A video questionnaire completed in the older age group in 99 centres (42 countries) showed a similar pattern. The major differences between populations found in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Phase One are likely to be due to environmental factors. The results provide a framework for studies between populations in contrasting environments which are likely to yield new clues about the aetiology of asthma.
“儿童哮喘和过敏国际研究”（ISAAC）旨在对不同国家的人群进行比较。本文所报告的ISAAC第一阶段采用了标准化的简单调查问卷，这些问卷是在世界大多数地区的中心学校儿童代表性样本中进行的。每个中心研究了两个年龄组（13 - 14岁和6 - 7岁），每组约有3000名儿童。13 - 14岁组（n = 463,801）在155个中心（56个国家）进行了研究，6 - 7岁组（n = 257,800）在91个中心（38个国家）进行了研究。哮喘症状的患病率存在显著差异，不同国家之间相差高达15倍。过去12个月内喘息的患病率在较大年龄组中为2.1% - 32.2%，在较小年龄组中为4.1% - 32.1%，在英语国家和拉丁美洲尤其高。在99个中心（42个国家）对较大年龄组完成的视频调查问卷显示了类似的模式。“儿童哮喘和过敏国际研究”第一阶段中发现的不同人群之间的主要差异可能是由于环境因素。这些结果为在对比环境中的人群研究提供了一个框架，这可能会产生有关哮喘病因的新线索。
