SynthesisJournal of global health2021
Operational definitions of paediatric asthma used in epidemiological studies: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rental housing may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in upper respiratory infections.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Early childhood asthma and adiposity until adolescence: A prospective birth cohort study using body fat percentage.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2026Article
- Excessive gestational weight gain and risk of asthma, rhinitis and allergic sensitization: Results from a Portuguese birth cohort.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2026Article
- Impact of varying childhood asthma definitions on incidence and clinical outcomes.Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology · 2026Article
- Early-life exposure to residential greenness and risk of asthma in a U.S. bronchiolitis cohort.Allergy · 2024Article
- Racial and Ethnic Identity and Vulnerability to Upper Respiratory Viral Infections Among US Children.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Precision Medicine and Childhood Asthma: A Guide for the Unwary.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Review
- Community-based asthma assessment in young children: adaptations for a multicentre longitudinal study in South Asia.Therapeutic advances in infectious diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResearchers use different definitions to identify children with asthma in epidemiological surveys. We conducted a systematic review to describe the definitions used in epidemiologic studies for wheeze and asthma in the paediatric population, aimed to inform the development of a uniform definition of paediatric asthma for future epidemiological research.
methodsWe systematically searched terms to identify asthma and/or wheeze among children aged <13 years and published between 1995-2020 across seven databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Global Health, AMED, LILACS and CINAHL). PRISMA guidelines were followed for this review.
resultsWe extracted a total of 11 886 records, where 190 met our eligibility criteria and included in the analysis. Among the included studies, 62.1% (n = 118/190) used the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires, predominantly in developing countries (80%, n = 64/80). 'Wheeze' was reported in five categories, subdivided by 14 different definitions. "Current wheeze", defined as caregivers report of wheezing sounds from the chest of the child in the past 12 months and "Wheeze ever", defined as caregivers' report of wheezing or whistling in the chest of the child at any previous time, were the most common wheeze category reported in 129 and 95 studies, respectively. Asthma was reported in nine categories using 53 definitions. The most common asthma category was "Asthma ever", which was reported in 89 studies, based on caregiver statement that the child had asthma in the past.
conclusionDefinitions of wheeze and asthma for children used in surveys are primarily based on parent-reported clinical features. Studies from developing countries more frequently used the ISAAC definitions to report childhood asthma and wheeze compared to the studies from developed counties. The use of a uniform asthma definition will aid the interpretation of research findings globally.
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