RESUMO
A cross-sectional study was done to determine the prevalence of asthma related symptoms in schoolchildren in Trinidad. This is the first study of this nature that has been undertaken in this island. The aims were to assess the prevalence and the severity of asthma and to obtain baseline measures for future assessment of this disease in school children aged 12 to 15 years attending secondary schools in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Written and video questionnaires developed for the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) project were administered to 1161 such students. The overall cumulative and 12 month prevalence of wheezing were 36.6 percent and 25.1 percent, respectively. The prevalence of diagnosed asthma was 13.3 percent. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that a high prevalence of wheeze and diagnosed asthma was associated with males and subjects with a positive family history of asthma. Most severe asthma related symptoms were most often present in females than in males. Asthma in schoolchildren in Port-of-Spain is severely underdiagnosed with a prevalence of 11.8 percent. This study emphasizes the fact that children in Trinidad are unnecessarily suffering from asthma and its related symptoms, as effective treatment is available.(AU)