Continuing increase in respiratory symptoms and atopy in Aberdeen schoolchildren

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Abstract
In May 1994, through the schools, we distributed questionnaires with an explanatory letter to the parents or guardians of the 4197 children attending primary clases 5, 6, and 7 in each of the 34 schools lying within the boundaries of the city of Aberdeen as they existed in 1964 and which had also provided the population base for the 1964 and 1989 studies. The questionnaire included items on respiratory symptoms (wheeze, shortness of breath, night cough) and diagnoses of atopy (asthma, eczema, and hay fever). The questionnaires were collected at the end of the week in which they were distributed, and a repeat questionnaire was issued to non-responders, again through the class teacher. A third questionnaire was sent to those parents who failed to respond to the first reminder, this time by post. Our protocol, including the questions and the explanatory letter, was identical to that followed in 1989, except that the questionnaires were printed on green rather than white card.