Significant lack of recognition of asthma in Vietnamese children

Background: Asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema are among the most common chronic diseases in children worldwide. It is a trend that the prevalence of these conditions has been increasing in developing countries, especially in urban cities. Under-recognition of allergic diseases could lead to a failure to seek medical treatment. Objectives: The study aimed to determine the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema, and the degree of under-recognition of asthma among Vietnamese children. Methods: A standardized questionnaire was self-completed by 15,112 children. Multi-stage sampling method was applied to randomly select 24 schools from 24 districts (19 inner districts and 5 suburban districts). Results: The cumulative and 12-month prevalence of the three symptoms were 47.9% vs. 39.5% for wheezing, 78.8% vs. 69.3% for allergic rhinitis symptoms 6.9% vs. 5.5% for recurrent rash, respectively. The prevalence of asthma, hay fever and eczema were 8.5%, 32.1 and 5.2% respectively. About 85% (3517/4123) of respondents who answered positively to the presence of at least one asthma-like symptom was not diagnosed with asthma. More girls suffered from wheeze symptoms than boys (42.1% vs. 36.9%, p<0.001), but the diagnosed rate of asthma for boys was significantly higher than for girls (9.9% vs. 7%, p<0.001). Children living in inner districts had significantly higher rates of wheeze, rhinitis, and recurrent rash than children in suburban districts. Conclusion: Allergic rhinitis and wheezing were common chronic conditions among Vietnamese school children. It is necessary to have urgent solutions to increase the recognition of asthma and protect children in the urban zone. Declaration of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.