PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF ASTHMA AMONG WAD MEDANI BASIC SCHOOL CHILDREN, GEZIRA STATE, SUDAN

OBJECTIVES: Childhood asthma is said to be under-estimated and under-diagnosed in tropical countries including Sudan. The prevalence of asthma worldwide is increasing. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and the trigger factors of asthma among Wad Medani basic school children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted during school year 2000-2001. The study group was selected by stratified proportional random sampling according to their age, sex and localities.Data was collected utilizing a pre-tested questionnaire addressing the history of asthma and its trigger factors (sample-2, 2002). RESULTS: The results revealed that asthma is the ninth of the most common diseases among the school children, having a prevalence of 9.2% (sample 1) and 17.9% (sample 2), the main trigger factors of which are dust, cold bats, exercise and smoke respectively. CONCLUSION: Asthma among school children is a common problem that should be considered when planning preventive school health programmes.