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Prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases in Aboriginal children: A whole population study
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases in Aboriginal children: A whole population study

P. Laird, N. Ball, S. Brahim, H. Brown, A.B. Chang, M. Cooper, D. Cox, S. Crute, R.E. Foong, J. Isaacs, …
Pediatric Pulmonology, Vol.27(12), pp.3136-3144
2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.26148
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Published839.90 kBDownloadView
CC BY-NC-ND V4.0,  Open Access

Abstract

Background The burden of bronchiectasis is disproportionately high in Aboriginal adults, with early mortality. Bronchiectasis precursors, that is, protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) and chronic suppurative lung disease (CSLD), often commence in early childhood. We previously reported a 10% prevalence of PBB in Aboriginal children aged 0 to 7 years, however there are no data on prevalence of chronic lung diseases in older children. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of PBB, CSLD, bronchiectasis, and asthma in Aboriginal children living in four communities. Methods A whole-population cross-sectional community co-designed study of Aboriginal children aged <18-years in four remote communities in Western Australia across two-time points, a month apart. Children were assessed by pediatric respiratory clinicians with spirometry undertaken (when possible) between March–September 2021. Children with respiratory symptoms were followed up via medical record audit from either the local medical clinic or via a respiratory specialist clinic through to March 2022 to establish a final diagnosis. Findings We recruited 392 (91.6%) of those in the selected communities; median age = 8.4 years (interquartile range [IQR] 5.1–11.5). Seventy children (17.9%) had a chronic respiratory pathology or abnormal spirometry results. PBB was confirmed in 30 (7.7%), CSLD = 13 (3.3%), bronchiectasis = 5 (1.3%) and asthma = 17 (4.3%). The prevalence of chronic wet cough significantly increased with increasing age. Interpretation The prevalence of PBB, CSLD and bronchiectasis is high in Aboriginal children and chronic wet cough increases with age. This study highlights the high disease burden in Aboriginal children and the urgent need for strategies to address these conditions.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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#3 Good Health and Well-Being

Source: InCites

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Citation topics
4 Electrical Engineering, Electronics & Computer Science
4.174 Digital Signal Processing
4.174.2147 Phonocardiogram
Web Of Science research areas
Pediatrics
Respiratory System
ESI research areas
Clinical Medicine
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