1 research outputs found
Prevalence of asthma among school children in Gaborone, Botswana.
Background: Asthma prevalence is high (>10%) in developed countries
and although data is still missing for most of Africa, rates are
increasing in developing regions as they become more westernized. We
investigated the prevalence of asthma in school children in Gaborone,
Botswana. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study. ISAAC
methodology was used. A representative proportionate size random sample
of two age groups of children (13-14 year olds and 6-7 year olds) was
consecutively enrolled from 10 schools. The schools were selected using
a table of random numbers. A minimum sample size of 924 individuals
(462 from each group) was adequate to achieve a precision of 3 % around
our estimated prevalence of asthma of 10% with 95% confidence assuming
a non-response rate of 20%. Data was collected using the validated
International study of Asthma and Allergies in children (ISAAC)
questionnaire. In accordance with the ISAAC criteria, Asthma was
defined as wheezing in the previous 12 months. Data was captured in
microsoft excel and analysed using SPSS version 23. Results: The
prevalence of asthma (wheezing in the previous 12 months) was 16.5%
(194/1175). Among the 6-7 year olds, the prevalence of asthma (wheezing
in the previous 12 months) was 15.9%, while among the 13-14 years olds
it was 16.8 %. The prevalence school type was 22.3 % in private schools
versus 14.5 % in public schools. More severe asthma was associated with
older children, 13 -14 years. The older children reported more limited
speech due to wheezing (OR= 2.0, 95% CI =1.034, 3.9, p-value=0.043),
ever had asthma (OR= 1.5, 95% CI=1.031, 2.3, p-value=0.034) and
wheezing during exercise (OR=3.4, 95% CI= 2.5, 4.9, p-value= <0.001)
compared to the younger children 6-7 years. Children from private
schools had more wheezing symptoms. They were more likely to have ever
wheezed (OR=2.2, .95% CI=1.7,2.9, p-value < 0.0001), wheezed in the
previous twelve months (have asthma) (OR=1.7,95%CI=1.2,2.4, p-value =
0.001), ever had asthma (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.7,3.5, pvalue< 0.0001),
and wheezed during exercise (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.4,2.4, p-value <
0.0001). Conclusion: The prevalence of asthma amongst school children
in Gaborone, Botswana is high with older children experiencing more
severe symptoms of asthma