[Breathing difficulties and asthma prevalence in children from zero to five years of age in five Rom settlements]

To study the relation between living conditions in temporary Rom settlements and asthma prevalence in children.

Purposive cluster (Rom settlements) sampling.

Five settlements of Rom from Macedonia and Kosovo located in five cities in northern and central Italy. These settlements were chosen to represent the different types of existing living arrangements.

137 Rom families residing in the selected settlements. In total 737 people were covered, of which 167 were children from zero to five years of age.

Respiratory wheezing, breathing difficulties during lifetime and number of episodes in the last 12 months. Asthma diagnosis and period prevalence.

The comparison with the data of the SIDRIA study for children aged 6-7 confirms the reliability of the results we are presenting. However, the study reveals a higher incidence of asthma symptoms in Rom children which could lead to a worse asthma prognosis in later years. Moreover, the prevalence of asthma and the incidence of asthma symptoms in the last year vary significantly according to the settlement of origin and the state of the housing in which the child lives.

The health of Rom children who live in settlements is put under great strain by the poor state of repair of the majority of these structures. It is therefore necessary to overcome the "emergency" approach and the "temporary" nature of the measures taken so far to deal with the issue of Rom from Eastern Europe, and plan serious reception and integration policies.