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Epidemiology of asthma in children. Who gets asthma and why?
1Epidemiology Unit Liverpool Hospital, South Western Sydney Area Health Service. b.jalaludin@unsw.edu.au
Insights
Childhood asthma is a significant health issue in Australia. Preventive measures include avoiding smoke exposure, dust mite control, breastfeeding, and a nutritious diet for high-risk infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric medicine
- Epidemiology
- Allergy and immunology
Background:
- Childhood asthma presents a considerable health burden in Australia.
- It significantly impacts children's quality of life, daily activities, and healthcare usage.
- Symptoms can be distressing for affected children and their families.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current literature on childhood asthma epidemiology.
- Focus on prevalence, trends, risk factors, and causes of pediatric asthma.
- Address common parental questions regarding childhood asthma for general practitioners.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of epidemiological studies on childhood asthma.
- Synthesis of data on prevalence and trends.
- Identification and analysis of risk factors and etiological pathways.
Main Results:
- Asthma is a prevalent condition in childhood with significant health implications.
- Understanding of risk factors and developmental mechanisms is evolving.
- Specific preventive strategies can be implemented for high-risk children.
Conclusions:
- While the exact causes of asthma remain partially unknown, preventive actions are possible.
- Parents of high-risk children should avoid smoking during pregnancy and postnatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
- Recommendations include house dust mite control, breastfeeding for at least three months, and a balanced diet.
Background:
Asthma is a common disease in childhood which results in a substantial burden of illness in Australia. This is manifest by distressing symptoms, impact on quality of life and role performance and health service utilisation.
Objective:
This article reviews the current literature on the epidemiology of asthma in children. It particularly focuses on the prevalence, trends in prevalence, risk factors and causes of asthma. The emphasis is on common questions that parents of children with asthma would like answered by their general practitioners.
Discussion:
We know something about some of the risk factors for asthma and a little about the mechanisms for the development of asthma. Despite the paucity of knowledge about the causes of asthma, some positive steps can be taken to prevent it. Allergic or asthmatic parents, whose children have a high risk of developing asthma, can be advised to avoid smoking during pregnancy and avoid environmental tobacco smoke exposure after the child is born, to undertake house dust mite control strategies, to breastfeed their babies for at least three months and subsequently to provide their child with a nutritious, balanced diet.