Community Medicine Abstracts - College of Medicine and Health ...

Project No. 105 (1997)Prevalence of Asthma among Ras Al Khaimah Primary School Children Aged6-13Student Authors: Alia Obaid MohammedFaculty Supervisors: Prof. O. Lloyd, Dr. A. Bener, Dr. F. Al MaskariAbstract:Objectives To find out the prevalence of asthma and to assess the causes of asthmaspecially the environmental and genetic factors among Ras Al Khaimah school childrenaged 6 - 13 in UAE.MethodsA self-administered questionnaire on asthma risk factors symptoms and treatment wasdistributed to the school children to be completed by their parents and returned toschool. Six government primary schools 3 boys and 3 girls schools in both urban andrural areas in Ras Al Khaimah. Main outcome measures The prevalence of asthmaamong Ras Al Khaimah primary school children and the main risk factors for thedevelopment of asthma.Results The prevalence rate was 9.5% among primary school children aged 6 - 13years, which was 31 asthmatic children out of 328 children. The prevalence washigher in boys than in girls with a ratio of 3: 1, this difference was not statisticallysignificant. 45.5% of asthmatic children were diagnosed as asthmatic during the firstyear of life. The parental history of asthma was significantly associated with childhoodasthma, and about 22.6% of asthmatic children had either an asthmatic father ormother. Having plants inside the home was also significantly associated with asthma.Conclusion This study needs to be spread to include all other Emirates, to assess theinfluence of the genetic and environmental factors on asthma, and it has to berepeated in a few years to assess the progression of the prevalence.