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Abstract
Background: Asthma is a prevalent chronic respiratory disease that significantly impacts children's health, school attendance, and academic performance. This study investigates the prevalence, risk factors, and management of asthma among primary school students in Al-Hilla City, Iraq.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 300 students from five non randomly selected primary schools in Al-Hilla city, during the academic year 2024-2025. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher. Data were analyzed by SPSS, version 25, software. A P-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The findings revealed an overall asthma prevalence of 12%, with higher rates in urban areas (15%) compared to suburban areas (9%). Key risk factors included environmental pollution (55%), dust storms (47%), indoor pollutants (37%), a family history of asthma (40%), and low socioeconomic status (50%). Asthma significantly affected students' health, leading to frequent absenteeism (65%), reduced physical activity (58%), and lower academic performance (45%). Asthma management practices in schools were found to be inadequate, with inconsistent medication use (40%) and limited access to peak flow meters (15%).
Conclusion & Recommendation: The study concluded that asthma is a common health problem among students, affecting 12% of the participants, with a significantly higher incidence in urban areas compared to suburban areas. Environmental, social, and economic factors—particularly pollution, dust storms, indoor pollutants, family history, and low income—play a significant role in increasing the risk of asthma. The study highlights the need for improved asthma management protocols in schools, better environmental policies to reduce pollution, and enhanced education for both students and school staff on asthma care.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ismael Mohammed Alsaadi , Ahmed Mohammed Jasim Shlash, Noor Fadhil AL- Maamouri, Fatima Kamil Salman (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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References
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- Kansen HM, Le TM, Uiterwaal CS, van Ewijk BE, Balemans WA, Gorissen DM, et al. Prevalence and predictors of uncontrolled asthma in children referred for asthma and other atopic diseases. J Asthma Allergy. 2020;13:67–75.doi: https://doi.org/10.2147/jaa.s231907.
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- Mirzaei M, Karimi M, Beheshti S, Mohammadi M. Prevalence of asthma among Middle Eastern children: A systematic review. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2016;31:9.doi:https://org.doi/ 10.18869/mjiri.31.9.
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References
Al-Moamary MS, Alhaider SA, Alangari AA, Al Ghobain MO, Zeitouni MO, Idrees MM, et al. The Saudi Initiative for Asthma–2019 update: Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma in adults and children. Ann Thorac Med. 2019;14(1):3–48doi: https//org.doi/10.36691/rja1543-927.
Alruwaili MF, Elwan A. Prevalence of asthma among male 16 to 18-year-old adolescents in the Northern Borders Region of Saudi Arabia. Electron Physician. 2018;10(6):6920.doi:https://doi.org/10.19082/6920 .
Alavinezhad A, Boskabady MH. The prevalence of asthma and related symptoms in Middle East countries. Clin Respir J. 2018;12(3):865–77.doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/crj.12655 .
Forno E, Sordillo J, Brehm J, Chen W, Benos T, Yan Q, et al. Genome-wide interaction study of dust mite allergen on lung function in children with asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017;140(4):996–1003.doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2016.12.967 .
Graff S, Demarche S, Henket M, Paulus V, Louis R, Schleich F. Increase in blood eosinophils during follow-up is associated with lung function decline in adult asthma. Respir Med. 2019;152:60–6.doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2019.04.020.
Halwani R, Al-Kufeidy R, Muharib BA, Alkhashram FM, Hussain SI. Impact of asthma on the quality of life of adolescent patients from Saudi Arabia. Lung Dis Treat. 2016;2(3):114.doi: https://doi.org/10.4172/2472-1018.1000114 .
Hossny EM, El-Owaidy RH, Raouf BM, Innajih SA. Health-related quality of life assessment using EQ-5D-Y questionnaire in a group of Egyptian asthmatic children. Egypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2020;18(1):25–34.doi: https://doi.org/10.21608/ejpa.2020.81766.
Kansen HM, Le TM, Uiterwaal CS, van Ewijk BE, Balemans WA, Gorissen DM, et al. Prevalence and predictors of uncontrolled asthma in children referred for asthma and other atopic diseases. J Asthma Allergy. 2020;13:67–75.doi: https://doi.org/10.2147/jaa.s231907.
Lochte L, Nielsen KG, Petersen PE, Platts-Mills TA. Childhood asthma and physical activity: A systematic review with meta-analysis and Graphic Appraisal Tool for Epidemiology assessment. BMC Pediatr. 2016;16:50.doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-016-0571-4.
Mirzaei M, Karimi M, Beheshti S, Mohammadi M. Prevalence of asthma among Middle Eastern children: A systematic review. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2016;31:9.doi:https://org.doi/ 10.18869/mjiri.31.9.
SaeedfarK, Behmanesh M, Mortaz E, Masjedi MR. The expression of STAT3 and STAT5A genes in severe refractory asthma. Tanaffos. 2017;16(1):1–6.