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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Soledad Lugo, MD, SCP1, Marco Marruffo, MD, MS2, Carolina A. Alvarez, MD, SCP3, Janet Marruffo, MD4, Federico Montealegre, DVM, MS, PhD5, and Manuel Bayona, MD, PhD4. (1) Epidemiology, Instituto de Altos Estudios en Salud Publica, Avenida Bermudez, Ministerio de Salud y Servicios Sociales, Maracay, Venezuela, (2) Department of Epidemiology, University of North Texas, School of Public Health, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699, (3) Deparment of Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699, (4) Department of Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699, (817) 735 - 0593, mbayona@hsc.unt.edu, (5) Asthma Research Program, Ponce School of Medicine, P.O. Box 7004, Ponce, PR 00732
Asthma is an increasing public health problem worldwide. This research was conducted by using a self-administered adapted version of the ISAAC questionnaire cross-sectional survey. A total of 513 children in two age groups: 6 to 7 and 13 to 14 years were included. The purposes of the study were to learn the prevalence of asthma and the identification and assessment of environmental risk factors in the city of Maracay, Venezuela. The prevalence was 21.8 per 100 children, being 24.2 per 100 females and 19.0 per 100 males. The prevalence in the 6 to 7 age group was 26.2 per 100 children, and for the 13 to 14 years of age was found to be 19.4 per 100 children. Those that live in townhouses were 50 % more likely to have asthma than those that lived in apartment buildings (OR=1.5). Children exposed to air fans were 69% more prone to have asthma than those unexposed. Pet owners were 75% more likely to be asthmatics than those that do not own pets. Roaches at home were associated with 75% more likelihood of having asthma than those that did not. Children exposed to smokers at home were 86% more likely to have asthma than the non-exposed. Other variables such as presence of carpets, fabric covers in furniture, and family history of asthma were not found as important predictors for asthma. These results show, for the first time in Venezuela, an overview of the prevalence and major risk factors in children.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to
Keywords: Asthma, Epidemiology
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.