Paediatric asthma in North Africa: the Asthma Insights and Reality in the Maghreb (AIRMAG) study

SummaryBackgroundBronchial asthma is the most frequent chronic childhood disease and can have a marked impact on educational development, activities and quality of life. The AIRMAG survey provides an opportunity to assess asthma and its impact in children in North Africa.ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence, burden and management of asthma in children in the Maghreb.MethodsA general population sample was generated using a stratified sampling method based on randomly-generated lists of telephone numbers. The target sample consisted of 10 000 households in each country, which were contacted by telephone. A structured interview was proposed. Two screening questions were asked to identify subjects with asthma. Children who met these criteria were then questioned in more detail about their asthma.ResultsOf 30 350 households contacted, 1090 subjects with asthma were identified, of whom 248 were aged under sixteen and interviewed by proxy. The prevalence of paediatric asthma ranged from 3.5% in Tunisia to 4.4% in Morocco. 22.8% of children were rated as severe persistent and 30.9% as intermittent. Asthma control was adequate in 7.6% of children and unacceptable in 46.2%. Control was best in Tunisia and worst in Morocco. 12.2% had been hospitalised for their asthma in the previous year and 32.9% had needed to attend an emergency department. Short-acting β-agonists were used by 52.8% of children and prophylactic inhaled corticosteroids (alone or in association with long-acting β-agonists) by 27.0%.ConclusionsAsthma has a major impact on the lives of children with asthma in the Maghreb. This could be improved by offering more appropriate care as recommended in the GINA guidelines.