A respiratory health survey on a representative sample (1023) of Inuit children aged 0 to 14 was undertaken for the first time in Nunavik in 2004. The data on respiratory symptoms and asthma were obtained from a household respondent, usually a parent, by means of the standardized ISAAC questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood). Other questions were also asked about various home and environmental variables.
Results indicate that the prevalence of wheezing, persistent wheezing and severe wheezing is three to four times higher in the 0 to 4 age group compared to the 5 to 14 age group (14.5% vs. 3.4%). In comparison with southern Quebec and many countries, the prevalence of wheezing in younger Inuit children is relatively high, while it is relatively...