Prevalence of asthma among 6-7 years old children in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Abstract

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children in developed countries and requires a considerable amount of health and social resources, as it is a heavy burden both for patients and their families and for society. In recent years, we do not have scientific epidemiological data about prevalence of asthma among children in our country. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of asthma in children aged 6-7 year in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Methods: We were randomly chosen 401 children aged 6-7 years who live in different districts of Ulaanbaatar city. This cross-sectional study was followed the methodology of International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). We were interviewed parents and legal guardians of children using little bit modified questionnaire of ISAAC. Results: Gender distribution of children 6-7 years old were similar (49.6% boys, 50.4% girls). 32.9 % (n=131) of all children presented wheezing or whistling ever, 21.4% (n=86) reported wheezing or whistling in the last 12 months. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was found in 2.5% (n=10). Prevalence of current asthma was no significant difference between boys and girls (p=0.466). Conclusions: Prevalence of current asthma was 21.4% (95% CI, 17.4-25.5) among 6-7 years old children in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The low prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma suggests that asthma continues to be underdiagnosed. Key words: Asthma, 6-7 years old children, prevalence, Ulaanbaatar