Published online January 4, 2006
PEDIATRICS Vol. 117 No. 1 January 2006, pp. 34-42 (doi:10.1542/peds.2004-2709)

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (35) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Galassi, C. Articles by Forastiere, F. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Galassi, C. Articles by Forastiere, F. Related Collections Asthma Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

ARTICLE

Changes in Prevalence of Asthma and Allergies Among Children and Adolescents in Italy: 1994–2002

Claudia Galassi, MD^a,b, Manuela De Sario, BSc^c, Annibale Biggeri, MD, PhD^d, Luigi Bisanti, MD^e, Elisabetta Chellini, MD^f, Giovannino Ciccone, MD^b, Maria Grazia Petronio, MD^g, Silvano Piffer, MD^h, Piersante Sestini, MDⁱ, Franca Rusconi, MD^j, Giovanni Viegi, MD^k and Francesco Forastiere, MD, PhD^c

^a Regional Health Agency, Emilia-Romagna, Bologna, Italy
^b Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, San Giovanni Battista Hospital-Center for Cancer Prevention, Piemonte, Turin, Italy
^c Department of Epidemiology, Rome E Local Health Authority, Rome, Italy
^d Department of Statistics, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
^e Local Health Authority, Milan, Italy
^f Center for Study and Prevention of Cancer, Florence, Italy
^g Empoli Local Health Authority, Empoli, Italy
^h Epidemiology Unit, Provincial Health Authority, Trento, Italy
ⁱ Institute of Respiratory Diseases, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
^j University of Milan, A. Meyer Children’s University Hospital, Florence, Italy
^k National Research Council Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, Italy

BACKGROUND. Several studies conducted during the 1990s indicated an increase in the prevalence of symptoms of asthma; more recent investigations suggest that the trend is stabilizing or may even be reversing.

OBJECTIVE. We compared 2 cross-sectional surveys conducted in 1994 and 2002 in 8 areas in northern and central Italy, to evaluate prevalence changes for asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema.

METHODS. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood methods and questionnaires were used to investigate 6- to 7-year-old children (16115 and 11287 questionnaires completed by parents in 1994–1995 and 2002, respectively) and 13- to 14-year-old adolescents (19723 and 10267 questionnaires completed by adolescents in 1994–1995 and 2002, respectively). In each phase, the overall response rate was >90%. Prevalence changes were calculated as the absolute difference between the prevalence recorded on the 2 occasions.

RESULTS. The prevalence of wheeze (past 12 months) increased slightly among children (change: 0.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.0% to 1.6%) and was rather stable among adolescents. Symptoms of allergic rhinitis (children: change: 5.2%; 95% CI: 4.0% to 6.4%; adolescents: change: 4.1%; 95% CI: 1.9% to 6.3%) and symptoms of atopic eczema (children: change: 4.4%; 95% CI: 3.6% to 5.2%; adolescents: change: 2.1%; 95% CI: 1.2% to 3.0%) increased clearly in both age groups. There was some heterogeneity across the centers among adolescents, especially for allergic rhinitis, with larger increases seen in the 3 metropolitan areas. The changes observed paralleled profound family changes, ie, better parental education, higher rates of maternal employment, and lower rates of exposure to parental smoke. These factors, however, do not explain all of the observed changes in prevalence.

CONCLUSIONS. The results indicate that the epidemiologic features of asthma and allergies in Italy are changing rapidly, although the causes are still uncertain.

---

Key Words: asthma • rhinitis • eczema • children • adolescents

Abbreviations: SIDRIA—Italian Studies of Respiratory Diseases in Childhood and the Environment • ISAAC—International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood • CI—confidence interval • ECRHS—European Community Respiratory Health Survey

---

Accepted May 16, 2005.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Stevens, S.-H. Cho, W. P. Linak, and M. I. Gilmour Differential Potentiation of Allergic Lung Disease in Mice Exposed to Chemically Distinct Diesel Samples Toxicol. Sci., February 1, 2009; 107(2): 522 - 534. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Sampsonas, A. Kaparianos, D. Lykouras, K. Karkoulias, and K. Spiropoulos DNA sequence variations of metalloproteinases: their role in asthma and COPD Postgrad. Med. J., April 1, 2007; 83(978): 244 - 250. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Rusconi, C. Galassi, F. Forastiere, M. Bellasio, M. De Sario, G. Ciccone, L. Brunetti, E. Chellini, G. Corbo, S. La Grutta, et al. Maternal Complications and Procedures in Pregnancy and at Birth and Wheezing Phenotypes in Children Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., January 1, 2007; 175(1): 16 - 21. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]