International Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Background: This st udy aims t o evaluat e t he associat ion bet ween envi ronment al and socio-economic condit ions wit h asthma prevalence in t he eight ISAAC cent res in North-East Brazil. Met hods: Est imates on occurrence, severit y and medical diagnoses of asthma in the previous 12 months were compared using environmental and socioeconomic indicators. Associat ions were assessed using simple linear regression and Pearson correlat ion coeffi cient . Resul t s: There was no di f ference in ast hma prevalence bet ween cent res. Act ive ast hma prevalence increased wit h increasing wat er privat ion, and t his would explain 62 % of t he observed prevalence. Median t emperature increase was inversely related t o act ive asthma (r = 0.81; p < 0.05). There was a posit ive associat ion bet ween lat i t ude and act ive ast hma prevalence (r = 0.82; p < 0.005), a negat ive associat ion between severe asthma and yearly medium temperature (r = —0.89; p < 0.05), and a posit ive associat ion with lat itude (r = 0.78; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Relat ion between t he t ropical weather and high prevalence of asthma was not confi rmed. There were associat ions with water privat ion and lat itude. © 2008 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.