An international comparison of asthma, wheeze, and breathing medication use among children

Background and Objective : There is variation in childhood asthma between countries with typically higher prevalence in “Westernized” nations. We compared asthma prevalence in Eastern and Central European regions and Canada. Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional survey study investigating the lung health of children (5-15 years). Participants were from one urban centre (>150,000 inhabitants) in each of Canada, Belarus, Poland, Republic of Georgia (Adjara), Republic of Macedonia, and Ukraine. Surveys were distributed through randomly selected schools to parents between 2013 and 2015. A history of diagnosed asthma, ever wheeze, and medication use was assessed. Results : The prevalence of asthma differed by country (Canada: 20.6%; Poland: 13.1%; Macedonia: 2.3%; Belarus: 1.9%; Georgia (Adjara): 1.8%; Ukraine: 1.5%; p Conclusions : While there were large differences in asthma prevalence, respiratory morbidity was more comparable between countries suggesting asthma prevalence may be underestimated and further validation of asthma diagnosis is needed.