There has been a significant reduction in the prevalence of reported asthma in Melbourne schoolchildren between 1993 and 2002, according to research published in the current issue of The Medical Journal of Australia.

Parents of children in school years 1 and 2 (ages 6 and 7) attending a random sample of 84 metropolitan Melbourne primary schools in 1993 and 63 schools in 2002 were questioned about their children's symptoms of asthma and other allergic diseases.

The reported prevalence of eczema and allergic rhinitis, which often occur along with asthma, increased while the prevalence of asthma fell. There was a 26 per cent reduction in reported wheeze, from over 27 per cent in 1993 to 20 per cent in 2002.

Fewer children attended emergency departments for asthma (3.6 per cent in 1993 to 2.3 per cent in 2002) and fewer were admitted to hospital (1.7 per cent to 1.1 per cent)

The proportion of children taking asthma medication decreased from 18.5 per cent to 13.4 per cent during that time.

The study used a protocol developed by The International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) as a standardised method for describing the prevalence of asthma to allow comparison between centres and to monitor changes over time.

The international ISAAC survey of 6-7 year old children in 38 countries in 1993 showed Australia had the second highest prevalence of asthma and that the prevalence was uniform throughout the country.

While the decrease in the prevalence of asthma is good news, the reasons for both the worldwide increases in asthma prevalence in the latter half of the 20th century and the recent decrease are unclear.

"There is no evidence to suggest that risk factors for asthma in childhood, such as genetic influences, environmental tobacco smoke exposure and sensitisation to environmental allergens, changed over that period.

"Despite the proliferation of educational campaigns, 55% of children with troublesome asthma are not regularly taking any preventive therapy. There is clearly a need to improve strategies to ensure accurate diagnosis and adherence to therapy," Dr Robertson said.

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.

CONTACT                 Dr Colin Robertson      03 9345 9818 / 0418 170 177

                              Judith Tokley, AMA     02 6270 5471 / 0408 824 306