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Prevalence of mouth breathing among children

Rubens Rafael Abreu1, Regina Lunardi Rocha, Joel Alves Lamounier

  • 1Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. rubensabreu@abaetenet.psi.br

Jornal De Pediatria
|October 3, 2008
PubMed

Insights

This study found that 55% of children aged 3 to 9 in Abaeté, Brazil, were mouth breathers. Further research is needed to develop better diagnostic tools for primary care.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Mouth breathing in children can lead to various health issues.
  • Accurate prevalence data is crucial for understanding the scope of the problem.
  • Validated diagnostic tools are lacking for primary care settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of mouth breathing in children aged 3 to 9 years.
  • To assess children residing in the urban districts of Abaeté, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Main Methods:

  • A representative, randomized sample of 370 children was selected.
  • A custom-developed protocol for anamnesis and clinical assessment was used.
  • Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 10.5.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of mouth breathing was found to be 55%.
  • This equates to 204 children in the studied population.

Conclusions:

  • A high prevalence of mouth breathing was observed in the study population.
  • Further research is necessary to validate a questionnaire for clinical diagnosis.
  • Development of reliable tools is needed for primary care settings.
Abstract

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