Abstract

No data on the prevalence of asthma in Afghanistan have been published before. In a school-based survey in 2010-2011 the wheezing section of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was completed by a random sample of 1500 children aged 6-7 years and 1500 adolescents aged 13-14 years old. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 12.5% in 6-7-year-olds and 17.3% in 13-14-year-olds (P = 0.002). The prevalence of wheeze in the last 12 months was similar in children and adolescents (19.2% and 21.7% respectively). The prevalence of ever wheezing, night attacks, speech-limiting wheeze and exercise-induced wheeze was 23.1%, 4.8%, 12.2% and 9.6% respectively in children and 30.5%, 4.4%, 13.0% and 13.6% respectively in adolescents. These rates are higher than those in neighbouring countries. This first epidemiological survey of asthma in Afghanistan shows that asthma and wheezing are common in Kabul students.