Introduction: The prevalence of asthma and rhinitis is high in childhood and has been increasing in the last few years. In both diseases underdiagnosis is frequent.
Objective: To asses the prevalence of asthma and rhinitis symptoms in childhood.
Material and methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using a written questionnaire, following the methodology of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), on the prevalence of symptoms of asthma and rhinitis in La Coruña.
Results: A total of 3017 boys and girls aged 6-7 years old (response rate 73.9 %) and 2981 boys and girls aged 13-14 years old (response rate 93.6 %) were included. The prevalence of "wheezing at some time" was 25.3 % in adolescents aged 13-14 years old and was 37.2 % in children aged 6-7 years. The prevalence of "asthma at some time" was 18.5 % in adolescents and 13.7 % in children. The prevalence of "rhinitis at some time" was 30.4 % in the group aged 6-7 years and 47.3 % in the group of adolescents. The prevalence of rhinitis was highest in autumn.
Conclusions: The prevalence of asthma and rhinitis is high in our population and is higher than that observed in most Spanish populations studied.