RIYADH, 2 November — A Kingdom-wide survey on the prevalence of asthma among children has revealed that it ranges from four percent as in Dammam to 23 percent in Taif, which heads the list of cities in this category.
This was disclosed by Dr. Towfik Khoja, executive director of the GCC Health Ministers’ Council, at a press conference held here on the sidelines of a seminar on the management of bronchial asthma organized by the multinational company, Merk, Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Tuesday.
Dr. Khoja said the objective of the survey was to identify the causes of bronchial asthma and develop a national protocol for the management of the disease.
Other cities in the order of prevalence of asthma are: Hail (22 percent); Gizan (21 percent); Qassim (16 percent); Hofuf (14 percent); Abha (13 percent); Jeddah (12 percent); Riyadh (10 percent) and Dammam (4 percent).
The study was conducted by Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Frayh on behalf of the National Scientific Committee on Bronchial Asthma of the Ministry of Health,
Dr. Khoja said the national protocol has been distributed through the Kingdom’s 1,766 health centers for providing guidelines to the physicians in terms of diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of asthma patients.
Asked about the factors that predispose children to asthmatic bouts, Dr. Khoja cited their visits to parks where they inhale pollens, or their coming into contact with pets. Together with mites and cockroaches in the house, these allergens play a powerful role in triggering asthmatic attacks, he added.
Dr. Abdullah Al Shimemri, chairman, Department of Critical Care, King Fahd National Guard Hospital, said a new approach to control asthma has been identified and shown good effect, thanks to the new understanding of the mechanism of the development of the inflammation in the airway of asthmatic patients.
