Respiratory disease screening in school-aged children using portable spirometry.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Epidemiology
• Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• Respiratory diseases are common in school-aged children.
• Accurate assessment of respiratory health is crucial for early diagnosis and management.
• Field spirometry offers a potential tool for assessing lung function outside clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and conditions in school-aged children in Lisbon.
• To evaluate the utility of field spirometry in this population.
• To identify risk factors associated with respiratory symptoms.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 313 1st and 4th graders from four Lisbon public schools.
• Data collection included a self-administered respiratory questionnaire and standard spirometry.
• Statistical analysis involved descriptive, bivariate, and multiple logistic regression.

Main Results:

• 35% of children reported at least one episode of wheezing; 4% had diagnosed asthma.
• Risk factors for wheezing included family history of atopy, maternal smoking, prior lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), bronchiolitis, and aeroallergen allergy.
• Asthma was associated with a history of LRTI and aeroallergen allergy.
• Spirometry met acceptability criteria in 55% of cases.
• Children with wheezing showed significantly lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and related measures.

Conclusions:

• A high prevalence of obstructive airway symptoms was observed in Lisbon schoolchildren.
• Questionnaire-based symptom assessment correlated well with spirometric findings.
• The low prevalence of diagnosed asthma suggests it may be underdiagnosed in this population.
• Field spirometry is a viable tool for assessing respiratory health in school-aged children.