Prevalence and Treatment of Children's Asthma in Rural Areas Compared with Urban Areas in Beijing / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The prevalence of childhood asthma has been increasing in China. This study aimed to compare the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of asthmatic children from urban and rural areas in Beijing, China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Schools, communities, and kindergartens were randomly selected by cluster random sampling from urban and rural areas in Beijing. Parents were surveyed by the same screening questionnaires. On-the-spot inquiries, physical examinations, medical records, and previous test results were used to diagnose asthmatic children. Information on previous diagnoses, treatments, and control of symptoms was obtained.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>From 7209 children in rural areas and 13,513 children in urban areas who completed screening questionnaires, 587 children were diagnosed as asthma. The prevalence of asthma in rural areas was lower than in urban areas (1.25% vs. 3.68%, χ2 = 100.80, P < 0.001). The diagnosis of asthma in rural areas was lower than in urban areas (48.9% vs. 73.9%, χ2 = 34.6, P < 0.001). Compared with urban asthmatic children (56.5%), only 35.6% of rural asthmatic children received inhaled corticosteroids (P < 0.05). The use of bronchodilators was also lower in rural areas than in urban areas (56.5% vs. 66.4%, χ2 = 14.2, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prevalence of asthma in children was lower in rural areas compared with children in the urban area of Beijing. A considerable number of children were not diagnosed and inadequately treated in rural areas.</p>

Association of polymorphisms of STAT6 and SO(2) with Chinese childhood asthma: a case-control study / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association of polymorphisms of STAT6 gene and air pollutants of PM(10), NO(2), and SO(2), with asthma in Chinese children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>418 subjects aged 14 years and under were recruited in a case-control study. The association between STAT6 polymorphisms and childhood asthma were tested by allele frequency, genotype analysis, and MDR analysis. Exposure to outdoor air pollutants was estimated by a 5-day moving average level. Statistical analyses were performed with SAS 9.1 software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Only 3 alleles of GT repeats at exon 1 of STAT6 were found in Chinese children. C258T and T710C were 2 new SNPs of STAT6 at 3'-UTR. Children who carried T allele of C258T were more common in asthma children than in control subjects (P<0.05). The MDR analysis showed that GT repeats, C258T and T710C of STAT6 polymorphisms interacted together in leading to susceptibility to childhood asthma among Chinese people. After confounding factors were controlled, such as SNP C258T, family history of asthma, frequency of influenza within a year, the 5-day average of SO(2) was tested to be a key risk factor of asthma in Chinese children (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Chinese children differed in polymorphisms of STAT6 and in its relation with childhood asthma.</p>