PMID- 10716034
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20000407
LR  - 20191025
IS  - 0272-4936 (Print)
IS  - 0272-4936 (Linking)
VI  - 19
IP  - 4
DP  - 1999 Dec
TI  - Geographical comparison of the prevalence of childhood asthma and allergies in 
      Singapore.
PG  - 383-90
AB  - A previous study suggested that differences in the prevalence of respiratory 
      illnesses such as asthma in school children in different regions of Singapore 
      were not due to the influence of air pollution or environmental factors but 
      possibly to cultural and socio-economic factors. The effects of socio-economic or 
      demographic variables were, however, not shown in that study. In this study, we 
      set out to discover whether regional differences in the prevalence of atopic 
      diseases such as asthma, rhinitis and eczema in Singapore school children could 
      be explained by different demographic profiles. The prevalence of asthma and 
      allergies were evaluated in 6238 Singapore school children in two age groups (6-7 
      years [n = 2030] and 12-15 years [n = 4208]). They were from four regions, based 
      on residential post codes. Demographic and socio-economic data were also 
      obtained. The questionnaire of the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in 
      Childhood (ISAAC) was used. The data showed that children residing in the 
      northern regions of Singapore had a significantly lower prevalence of asthma and 
      rhinitis than those in other regions. When controlled for demographic influences 
      (age, sex and race) and socio-economic factors (type of housing), however, the 
      differences between these regions were reduced. No geographical difference in the 
      prevalence of eczema was observed. Thus, geographical differences in the 
      prevalence of asthma and rhinitis in Singapore could in part be explained by 
      demographic and socio-economic differences in the population.
FAU - Chew, F T
AU  - Chew FT
AD  - Department of Paediatrics, National University of Singapore, Singapore. 
      paecft@nus.edu.sg
FAU - Goh, D Y
AU  - Goh DY
FAU - Lee, B W
AU  - Lee BW
LA  - eng
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Ann Trop Paediatr
JT  - Annals of tropical paediatrics
JID - 8210625
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Asthma/*epidemiology
MH  - Child
MH  - Demography
MH  - Eczema/*epidemiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Prevalence
MH  - Rhinitis/*epidemiology
MH  - Singapore/epidemiology
MH  - Socioeconomic Factors
EDAT- 2000/03/15 00:00
MHDA- 2000/03/15 00:01
CRDT- 2000/03/15 00:00
PHST- 2000/03/15 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2000/03/15 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 2000/03/15 00:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1080/02724939992248 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ann Trop Paediatr. 1999 Dec;19(4):383-90. doi: 10.1080/02724939992248.