This case-control study was carried out to assess the parameters of growth and development of asthmatic children and to verify the factors that participate in increasing the severity of affection of these parameters. The studied group included one hundred of children aged 2-6 years with bronchial asthma of at least one year duration of illness and one hundred healthy children of matched age, sex and socioeconomic standards as controls. The case-control study revealed that bronchial asthma is a retarding factor to growth and development in the early childhood period (2-6 years). Asthmatics were lighter and shorter than controls with a statistically significant difference for all growth parameters except chest circumference. The factors that participate in increasing the affection of growth parameters among asthmatic cases were disense factors such as severity and duration of illness, recurrent respiratory infections, age at onset of the disease and -frequency of hospitalization as well as demographic and social factors such as age of the child and mother’s education. However, chest circumference was found to be increased with increased severity and duration of illness. This might be due to the presence of prolonged dispend that might be associated with incomplete expiration and consequently the ribs will be in a relatively transverse position |
