The incidence of asthma in children of the Moscow region: epidemiological characteristics

T.A. Bokova^1,2, D.A. Kartashova¹, E.V. Troitskaya¹

¹M.F. Vladimirskiy Moscow Regional Research and Clinical Institute, Moscow

²Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow

Aim: to study the prevalence of asthma (A) in children of the Moscow region and the distribution peculiarities of incidence indicators depending on the age, gender and area of residence.

Patients and Methods: a descriptive epidemiological study was performed using data from the annual report forms of Federal Statistical Monitoring No. 12 «Information on the number of diseases registered in patients living in the service area of a medical institution» concerning the child population (including 0 to 17 years) for 2020.

Results: diagnosis of A (J45.0–45.9) registered in 17,757 children, which was 1.2% of the total child population in the region. Boys — 67%, girls — 33%. The total incidence of A was 116.5 per 10,000 children in the Moscow region. The average age of children with A was 11.6±3.86 years. The age at the time of diagnosis was 9.6±4.06 years. Atopic asthma (J45.0) (80.2%) was registered more commonly, while unspecified (J45.9) (17.4%), mixed (J45.8) (2.1%) and non-allergic (J45.1) (0.3%) were less common. The highest incidence rates of A per 10,000 children were registered in the following cities: Dubna (161.5), Zhukovsky (145.4), Shchelkovo (135.2) and Klin (133.0); the smallest — in Naro-Fominsk (37.0), Solnechnogorsk (31.7) and Chekhov (31.8). Atopic A was registered more commonly (62–99%) in all regions. The highest percentage of unspecified A was in the following cities: Khimki (35.9%), Naro-Fominsk (27.7%), Domodedovo (26.9%), Pushkino (24.8%), Orekhovo-Zuyevo (21.0%); the smallest — in Zhukovsky (0.4%), Dubna (0.5%). The mixed and non-allergic forms of A were registered less commonly and not in all regions.

Conclusions: the indicators concerning the general incidence of A are characterized by heterogeneity and a significant spread, which, along with differences in the diagnosis frequency of various disease forms, can be explained both by the environmental characteristics of the area of residence and a possible problem of hypo- or overdiagnosis, which requires further study and clarification.

Keywords: bronchial asthma, children, incidence, prevalence, environmentally caused diseases, differential diagnosis.

For citation: Bokova T.A., Kartashova D.A., Troitskaya E.V. The incidence of asthma in children of the Moscow region: epidemiological characteristics. RMJ. 2022;2:2–5.