[Quality of life in a population of asthmatic children]

To measure the quality of life of asthmatic children and to find their social and health situation.

Transversal, descriptive study.

Cadiz health centre with a population of 3680 children.

Fifty two children included in the asthma programme.

The data were collected in 2004 from the clinical histories of the Andalusian Health Service and through personal interviews using the PAQLQ quality of life questionnaire. Social-demographic, clinical, service-use, and quality-of-life variables were collected. Version 11.0 of the SPSS programme was used for the analysis.

There were more boys (65.4%). The social-demographic profile found that 80.6% were in nuclear families and 75% had absence of damp at home. The asthma background was 17.3% in fathers and 25% in mothers. Of active smokers, 57.7% were fathers and 42.3% were mothers. Mean annual consultations in primary care were 5.5+/-4.6 in total and 1.5+/-2.5 for asthma. The mean score on the quality-of-life questionnaire was 5.5+/-1.3, and in its various dimensions: restriction on physical activity, 5.3+/-1.6; symptoms, 5.5+/-1.3; and emotional aspects, 5.6+/-1.4.

The population of asthmatic children included in the asthma programme have a good quality of life, especially in the emotional dimension. The social and health situation, clinical status and the quality-of-life score are very homogeneous.