[Characteristics of infantile asthma in patients seen in primary care]

OBJECTIVE

To compare an asthmatic and non-asthmatic group of children by looking at determined characteristics.

DESIGN

Study of cases and paired one-to-one controls by age and gender.

SETTING

Primary Care.

PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Children aged 0 to 13 and attended at one particular Paediatrics clinic were studied (1,100 children). All those children diagnosed with asthma in accordance with the standard procedure in the Health District were considered as cases (142). The control group was chosen at random from the age and gender files.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

A telephone poll with closed questions was carried out by three researchers who were "blind" to whether they were dealing with case or control. Statistically significant differences were found for family background of allergic Rhinitis (cases, 43.2%; controls, 30.4%; p = 0.04), atopic eczema (cases, 36.3%; controls, 14.7%; p < 0.001) and bronchial asthma (cases, 59.8%; controls, 33.3%; p < 0.001). Statistically significant differences were also found for personal case histories of allergic Rhinitis (cases, 36.3%; controls, 2%; p < 0.001) and atopic eczema (cases, 23.5%; controls, 10.7%; p = 0.021); and in the presence of animals (dog and/or cat) in the home (cases, 13.7%; controls, 25.5%; p = 0.04). No statistically significant differences were found for background of breast-feeding, age of starting school, present passive smoking or the existence of older siblings.

CONCLUSIONS

The results obtained show that the association of atopic illnesses, such as Rhinitis and Eczema, and the existence of family background of asthma and atopy are more common in the asthmatic patient.