OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of asthma symptoms among schoolchildren aged six to seven years in the municipality of Picos-PI; and to identify risk factors associated with the disease. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with children aged six and seven from Picos, in November 2010 and May 2011. To collect data, we used an adapted form of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. RESULTS: Among the 234 children in the study sample, 56% were female. The prevalence of the medical diagnosis of asthma was 7.7%. The following risk factors presented a statistically significant relationship with the occurrence of asthma (p <0.05): wheezing after physical exercise, dry cough at night without having a cold, bronchitis, and having parents with asthma. CONCLUSION: We observed an underdiagnosis of asthma; there is a necessity for further work to be conducted with a larger sample, to examine more broadly the situation of asthma in children in the municipality of Picos - PI.
Asthma; Risk factors; Symptoms; Child; Pediatric nursing
