Assessment of the diagnosis and prevalence of asthmain Australian Indigenous children

Abstract 

Background and Objective: Although the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire has been used in many countries and has been validated previously, it has not been used in Australian Indigenous communities. We endeavoured to assess its performance when administered in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we assessed the ISAAC's questionnaire when administered face-to-face in Indigenous communities in the Torres Strait region, Australia.

Results: Comparing responses to the questionnaire with clinical assessment of 260 Indigenous children by a pediatric respiratory physician, sensitivity (87%) was high, but specificity (51%) and positive predictive value (33%) were low. Using a logistic regression model, we determined which questions were most useful in predicting a clinical diagnosis of asthma. Using a predictive equation, asthma was detected with 79% sensitivity and 77% specificity, and the calculated weighted estimate of asthma prevalence in the region was 16.3%.

Conclusion: Our findings reveal that although the ISAAC questionnaire is a reasonably sensitive tool for both epidemiologic and clinical studies of asthma in Indigenous communities, its value is enhanced when used in conjunction with a predictive model. We have also shown that asthma is prevalent in the Torres Strait region.

Keywords:  Asthma, Childhood, Indigenous, ISAAC questionnaire