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Community child health, public health, and epidemiology
The prevalence and clinical characteristics of cystic fibrosis in South Asian Canadian immigrants
  1. M Mei-Zahav1,
  2. P Durie3,
  3. J Zielenski4,
  4. M Solomon1,
  5. E Tullis2,
  6. L-C Tsui4,
  7. M Corey5
  1. 1Division of Respiratory Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  2. 2Division of Respiratory Medicine, St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  3. 3Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  4. 4Program in Genetics and Genomic Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  5. 5Program in Population Health Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  1. Correspondence to:
    Dr M Corey
    Program in Population Health Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada; mary.coreysickkids.ca

Abstract

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is considered to be rare among individuals from the Indian subcontinent. Furthermore, affected individuals are reported to experience a more severe clinical course.

Aims: It was hypothesised that CF is under diagnosed in people of South Asian origin and therefore the prevalence may be higher than previously estimated.

Methods: The prevalence of CF in the South Asian and in the general population living in the same geographic region (Metropolitan Toronto) were compared between 1996 and 2001. Population data were obtained from the Canadian census survey. CF phenotype and genotype data were obtained from the Toronto CF database.

Results: Among 381 patients with CF, 15 were of South Asian descent. The age related prevalence of CF among the South Asian and general populations was: 0–14 years, 1:9200 versus 1:6600; 15–24 years, 1:13 200 versus 1:7600; older than 25 years, 1:56 600 versus 1:12 400. Age at diagnosis, duration and severity of symptoms at diagnosis, current nutritional status, and FEV1 were similar in the two groups. While not significant, FEV1 tended to be lower (48% versus 57% predicted) among adult South Asians, compared to the general CF population. Also, the percentage with pancreatic sufficiency was higher (27% versus 16%) and the frequency of ΔF508 allele was lower (50% versus 65.1%).

Conclusions: These data suggest that the prevalence and natural history of CF in South Asians is similar to that among individuals of European origin. The relatively lower prevalence among older South Asians may reflect an improving recognition of CF in this ethnic subgroup.

  • cystic fibrosis
  • diagnosis
  • ethnicity
  • prevalence

https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.2003.042614

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    Footnotes

    • Funding: supported, in part, by research grants to MC, JZ, ET, and PD, from the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK. NIHSCOR 2P50 DK49096-07) and from the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

    • Competing interests: none declared