Prevalence of asthma in regional Victorian schoolchildren

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether the high prevalence of reported asthma in Melbourne schoolchildren is seen in rural Victoria. Design: A questionnaire on respiratory symptoms was distributed to children to be completed by parents and returned to the school. Results were compared with a previous Melbourne study. Setting: Two hundred and twenty-seven government and non-government primary schools in five rural regions of Victoria: coast, wheatbelt, riverland, highland and Latrobe valley. Subjects: All children enrolled in grade 2 were invited to join the study. Parents completed questionnaires for 4661 children after 4886 questionnaires were distributed (response rate, 95%). Main outcome measure..