[Prevalence of asthma in children in Auvergne: a safe region?]

The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of asthma in the Auvergne region.

Two thousand and nine pupils from primary (five-six years old) and secondary (14-15 years old) schools were given a questionnaire when attending their compulsory medical examination and asked to return it completed.

The response rate was 82%. The prevalence of asthma was 5.6%. There was no difference neither between the two age groups nor between sexes. In contrast, there was a significant difference in prevalence according to whether the child lived in a town (7.3%) or in the countryside (4.6%) (p = 0.01). In the department of the Puy-de-Dôme, this difference was even more distinct, with a prevalence of 10% in urban areas and 4.0% in the countryside (p = 0.001). Twelve percent of the children had experienced wheezing over the previous 12 months. The prevalence of bronchitis was higher in rural areas (17.3%) than in towns (11.8%) but not to a significant degree. Passive smoking significantly increased this risk (18.9% and 14%, p = 0.003).

The prevalence of asthma in the Auvergne region is low in both age groups compared to other regions in France and to Europe. The difference of prevalence between town and countryside may evidence of the influence of environmental factors.