Asthma and respiratory symptoms among school children in United Arab Emirates.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of asthma, wheezing, hay fever, and eczema among primary school children aged 6-13 years in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study on school children was performed using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires.

SETTING

Government primary school children in seven Emirates, in UAE.

SUBJECTS: Subjects were selected by a multi-stage stratified sampling design. 4200 children targeted for this study, but only 3200 children aged 6-13 years were agreed to participate and responded to the study. The overall response rate was 69.8%.

RESULTS

The prevalence of physician diagnosed asthma was 13%, in addition, the wheeze by history was 15.6%. Furthermore, the prevalence of nocturnal cough was 21%. On the other hand, the prevalence of eczema was 11% and hay fever was 14.9%. Parental asthma but not parental atopy was associated with an increased risk of asthma and wheezing in children.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of asthma and wheezing in UAE is consistent with that in neighbouring Gulf countries.