Objective: To estimate the prevalence of asthma in urban residents of Shanghai in 1990 and evaluate the risk factors of asthma.
Methods: A cluster uneven random survey of asthma was conducted among 36,872 urban residents, 5/1000 of the population of the city. The asthmatics were suspected based upon case history, and then confirmed by home visit and further investigation. Single factor and unconditional logistic regression analysis were employed to evaluate the risk factors of asthma.
Results: The accumulative prevalence of asthma was 1.53% for age group 0-35 and it was higher in male (1.74%) than in female (1.31%). Sex, age and type of living house were possible risk factors. The prevalences were much higher among people with history of TB and pneumonia of which the values of relative risks were 2.53 and 4.95, respectively. Histories of food, drug and other kinds of hypersensitivity were significantly related to the history of asthma.
Conclusion: Several risk factors possibly associated with asthma were identified in Shanghai area.