153 PHYSICAL GROWTH OF ASTHMATIC CHILDREN ATTENDIND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

We investigated children with bronchial asthma in body weight and body height by questionnaire investigation. One hundred and two patients with bronchial asthma, who were visiting Mitoyo General Hospital for treatment, were enrolled in the present study. Seventy-six hundred and six non-asthmatic subjects, attending forty elementary schools in the Seisan district. Kagawa, were registered as control subjects. The results were that there were more children with short stature less than -2SD in seriously ill asthmatic children than in control subjects. Moreover, there were more children with gross obesity, which was defined as that his body weight was more than 1.5 times of his standard body weight, in asthmatic children than control subjects. On the other hand, we measured serum cortisol levels in asthmatic children who participated in summer camp for treatment. As a result, the level of serum cotisol in asthmatic attack (mean；17.5±11.2μg/dl) was higher than in non-asthmatic attack (mean；5.9±2.1 μg/dl)(p