Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item Prevalence of asthma and atopy among primary school children(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2001) Karunasekera, K.A.W.; Perera, K.P.J.INTRODUCTION : Prevalence of asthma and atopy among school children in Sri Lanka is not known. Objectives : To estimate prevalence of asthma and atopy in children between 5-11 years and to determine the influence of sex and age on the prevalence of asthma. METHODS: A total of 2043 children between 5-11 years of 3 mixed schools in Gampaha district were screened for symptoms of asthma and atopy using a questionnaire in August 1998. Diagnosis of asthma was based on the presence of 3 symptoms of the following 5 in the preceding 12 months; cough at night, breathlessness, wheezing, persistent cough more than a week after common cold and cough and/or chest tightness during or after playing. Chi squared test and Chi squared test for trend were used for analysis. RESULTS: Prevalence of asthma symptoms were cough at night 22.1%, breathiessness 17.2%, wheezing 22.6%, persistent cough after common cold 29.9% and cough or chest tightness with playing 11%. Prevalence of asthma based on questionnaire was 17.1 %, allergic rhinitis 10% and eczema 2.5%. The prevalence of asthma in males was not significantly different from that of females (p=0.4). There was a decreasing trend of the prevalence of asthma with increasing age. This trend was significant in girls (p= 0.01) but not in boys. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one fifth of primary school children suffer from asthma and 10% have allergic rhinitis. There was no significant gender difference in Jhe prevalence of asthma in primary school children. There was a decreasing trend of the prevalence of asthma with increasing age in girls but not in boys.Item Risk factors of childhood asthma: a Sri lankan study(Oxford University Press, 2001) Karunasekera, K.A.W.; Jayasinghe, J.A.C.T.; Alwis, L.W.G.R.A case-control study was carried out to evaluate the genetic and environmental risk factors of childhood asthma in a group of Sri Lankan children. Three hundred cases (admitted with symptoms of asthma) and 300 age-matched controls were compared over a period of 23 months commencing in January 1996. Family history of atopy, feeding habits in infancy, bronchiolitis in infancy, passive smoking, exposure to dust and dampness, and exposure to pet animals were studied as risk factors for asthma. The risks associated with social factors were also studied. The risk associated with variables were calculated using the chi-squared test in the bivariate analysis and the forward logistic regression model in the multivariate analysis. Parental asthma, asthma in a sibling and in a relative, parental allergic rhinitis, discontinuation of breastfeeding after 6 months in infancy, bronchiolitis in infancy, living in a dusty environment, and a father with primary education compared to secondary education were independently associated with an increased risk of asthma (p 0.05). This study reinforces the view that asthma has a multifactorial aetiology. Influence of paternal asthma is more than that of maternal asthma. As a preventive measure continuation of breastfeeding beyond 6 months is important.