 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Elizabeth A. Chrischilles, PhD1, James Merchant, MD2, Angela Kuehl, PharmD2, Richard Ahrens, MD3, Stephen J. Reynolds, PhD, CIH4, Kevin Kelly, PhD2, Peter S. Thorne, PhD5, and Leon Burmeister, PhD2. (1) Department of Epidemiology, The University of Iowa, College of Public Health, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, 319-384-5009, e-chrischilles@uiowa.edu, (2) College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, (3) Department of Pediatrics, The University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, (4) Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, 154A EHB, Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1676, (5) University of Iowa College of Public Health, 100 Oakdale Campus, 176 IREH, Iowa City, IA 522425000
Objective: To describe asthma symptom frequency and home characteristics at baseline among children in a rural community-based asthma intervention study. Methods: A questionnaire (1,2) was mailed to all families with children aged 6-14 years from school districts in two rural counties. Self-reported home characteristics were later collected for children meeting the case definition (doctor ever told you child has asthma, or medications for wheezing in the past twelve months). Frequent symptoms were: exercise/activity limited monthly, asthma symptoms on wakening weekly, night wakening from asthma more than 2 nights per month, or beta-agonist inhaler use weekly. Severe symptoms were: speech limited to one or two words between breaths or asthma-related urgent care use. Results: Of 2,324 respondents (90% response), 1,272 (54.7%) lived in town, 579 (24.9%) a rural non-farm home, and 473 (20.4%) on a farm. The frequency of self-reported doctor diagnosed asthma (study case definition) was 17.4%, which did not vary significantly by residence type. However, farm-dwellers were less likely to have frequent symptoms (9.6% vs 15.0% and 15.9% for farm, rural non-farm, and town dwellers, respectively; p=0.001). Prevalence of severe asthma symptoms (4.6% overall) was not associated with residence type (p=0.96). Visible water damage was present in 46% of homes, visible mold/mildew in 42%, gas stoves in 45%, and an adult smoker in 27%. Twenty percent of parents worked with livestock or grain but only half of these kept work clothes in a separate hamper. Conclusion: Asthma symptoms and environmental control issues are common among rural children.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Participation, Environmental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.