目的：了解宜昌市儿童哮喘的患病率、流行病学特点及危险因素，为哮喘的早期诊断和预防性治疗寻求更多的循证医学证据。方法：采用整群抽样的方法，在宜昌市城区随机抽取5所幼儿园、10所中小学及5个社区，对其中90%以上儿童进行初筛问卷调查，筛选出疑似哮喘儿童，对其再次发放哮喘儿童调查问卷进一步调查，同时选取与哮喘儿童数量相近，性别、年龄相匹配的非哮喘儿童进行病例对照研究。问卷收回后录入数据库，进行统计分析。结果：共发放调查问卷11000份，收回10456份，应答率为95.1%。调查结果显示宜昌市儿童哮喘患病率为3.47%，男孩患病率高于女孩（P<0.05）。363例哮喘儿童中，107例患儿有药物过敏史，152例患儿有家族过敏史；儿童哮喘的好发季节和好发时辰均以无规律为主；呼吸道感染是哮喘发作最常见的诱因，占93.1%；家族过敏史、抗生素早期使用史、房屋装修史和被动吸烟史是儿童哮喘的主要危险因素。结论：预防呼吸道感染可能减少哮喘的急性发作次数，减少儿童早期抗生素的使用以及房屋装修次数和倡导患儿家长戒烟对儿童哮喘有一定的保护作用。

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence, epidemiological characteristics, and risk factors for childhood asthma in Yichang City, China and to collect evidence for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of asthma. METHODS: Preliminary screening questionnaires were distributed to more than 90% of children in 5 kindergartens, 10 primary and secondary schools, and 5 communities in Yichang City to detect children with suspected asthma. These surveyed children were selected by cluster random sampling. A further questionnaire survey was conducted for suspected cases. Meanwhile, a similar number of sex- and age-matched non-asthmatic children were selected for the case-control study. Information from returned questionnaires was entered into a database for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 11?000 questionnaires were distributed, and 10?456 (95.1%) questionnaires were returned. The prevalence rate of asthma among children in Yichang was 3.47%, significantly higher in boys than in girls (P<0.05). A total of 107 out of 363 children with asthma had a history of drug allergy, and 152 cases had a family history of allergy. The majority of asthmatic children had irregular onset-prone seasons and hours. Respiratory tract infections were the most common trigger of asthma attacks, accounting for 93.1% of all onsets; family history of allergy, history of early use of antibiotics, history of housing renovation, and history of passive smoking were the major risk factors for asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention of respiratory tract infections may reduce the frequency of asthma attacks; reducing the use of antibiotics during early childhood, decreasing the frequency of housing renovation, and advocating for smoking cessation among parents have preventive effects on asthma.