Sajid Hussain Shah, Shahzad Najeeb, Bibi Aalia, Mohammad Ali Raza, Khyal Muhammad, Munir Ahmad Abbasi.
Risk factors and parents\' attitude for children presenting with asthma at a tertiary care hospital.
Pak J Physiol Jan ;18(2):54-7.

Background: Asthma is commonly prevalent disease in children. There has been increasing prevalence and incidence of asthma in children in last few decades. Risk factors and parent`s attitude towards therapy matters in management. The objective was to assess the risk factors and parents` attitude for children presenting with asthma. Methods: This cross sectional study was done at Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad. History was taken about risk factors and associated myths. Duration of asthma, visits per year to clinic/hospital, tobacco smoke exposure, pets, fur toys, wood/coal burning, carpets in rooms, perfumes/powder use was documented. Parents` attitude towards use of spacer and inhaler was documented with specific questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS-20 and p<0.05 was taken as significant. Results: There were 136 patients, 93 (68.4%) males and 43 (31.6%) females. Mean age was 7.3+-3.13 years. Most (80.1%) patients were <10 years old. Patient visits per year ranged from 2 to 15 visits with mean of 5.97+-3.02 visits per year. Intermittent asthma was seen in 8.8% and persistent asthma was seen in 66.9% patients. The most common risk factor was use of perfume in 48.5% and family history in 65.4% patients. Parents` misconception towards inhaler use was noted in 38.2% patients. Younger children are at more risk of having asthma symptoms with exposure to wood/coal smoke and perfume powder exposure (p=0.04). Conclusion: Family history of asthma with perfume/powder exposure and wood/coal smoke exposure are major risk factors in children. Parents` misconception is a hurdle to timely management.

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