Survey of childhood asthma in Aberdeen.

Screening of 2511 Aberdeen children revealed 121 who had asthma, a prevalence-rate of 4·8%. There was a ratio of boys to girls of over 2/1; 16 of the 20 children with severe asthma were boys. 80% had experienced their first attack by five years of age. There was a family history of asthma in 53%. Only 1 child had received steroid therapy. Heights and weights of severely asthmatic children were below normal. Children with severe asthma were mostly from social classes IV and v, and tended to come from families of 4 or more children. The mean I.Q. of the asthmatic children was higher than that of the general population.