A sequence of questions was designed to quantify the within subject variation of exercise tolerance limited by breathlessness, to serve as a guide to variation in airflow limitation for epidemiological purposes. The questions seek answers about breathlessness in relation to various levels of attempted activity when the subjects are at their best and at their worst. The difference between exerci...

The frequency of asthma in 10 971 school-children between the ages of 5 and 14 years was reported by their parents to be 3-8%. Of these, 20-7% were said to have had bronchitis, 5-9% pneumonia, and 4-7% eczema. Asthma was reported more commonly in boys than girls and was greatest in children of social classes I and II. One-third of the children were reported to have their first attack before the...

This study investigated the prevalence and association between exercise-induced asthma (EIA) and parental socio-economic status (PSES) among school-aged adolescents in a semiurban community in Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty-five adolescents (185 male and 200 female adolescents) whose ages ranged between 10 and 19 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants were recruited f...

BACKGROUND Peak forced expiratory flow (PEF) and FEV(1) are spirometry measures used in diagnosing and monitoring lung diseases. We tested the premise that within-test variability in PEF is associated with corresponding variability in FEV(1) during a single test session. METHODS A total of 2,464 healthy adults from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study whose spirometry results met Ame...

The peak flow meter (PFM) is a useful device in asthma monitoring and in determining the severity of symptoms. Against the background of reported underutilisation of PFMs in the management of asthma and prescription for home use, and the paucity of such data in developing countries, this study was carried out to assess the knowledge, awareness, and practice of physicians on the use of PFMs in t...

By means of a simple questionnaire and measurements of height, weight, and peak expiratory flow rates 3061 children from city and rural populations were studied. Children with asthma or other respiratory diseases had lower peak expiratory flow rates, and younger children living in rural areas had higher rates. In 2828 healthy children the peak expiratory flow rate increased with age, height, an...

The prevalence of reversible airways obstruction has been assessed in children in three areas in Zimbabwe--northern Harare (high socioeconomic class urban children), southern Harare (low socio-economic class urban children), and Wedza Communal Land (rural children from peasant families). Peak expiratory flow (PEF) was measured before and after six minutes' free running in 2055 Zimbabwean primar...

OBJECTIVE Asthma control has not been formally evaluated in the Caribbean. This study evaluated disease control on The Asthma Control Test (ACT), The Royal College of Physicians "Three questions" for Assessing Asthma Control (RCP), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and patients' self-assessment of control. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Asthma control was examined in a cross-section of 205 asthmatics ab...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine the intracellular and extracellular Mg concentrations in patients with acute asthma and their correlation with parameters expressing the disease severity. PATIENTS Thirty patients with acute asthma (FEV(1), 56% predicted [SD, 14.5]), 20 patients with stable asthma (FEV(1), 97% predicted [SD, 10]), and 20 healthy subjects (FEV(1), 97% predicted [SD, 8]). METHODS...