Investigation on the Incidence of Syncope in Children and Adolescents Aged 2–18 Years in Changsha

Abstract

Objectives: Syncope is a common clinical symptom, while there are less relevant literature and targeted research on childhood morbidity. This article makes a cross-section survey on the incidence of syncope in children and adolescents aged 2–18 years in Changsha. Materials and Methods: There were 4,352 children and adolescents aged 2–18 years randomly selected from six primary and secondary schools and three kindergartens in Changsha from March 2018 to November 2018. There were 4,916 standardized questionnaires issued, and 4,352 (88.53%) valid questionnaires were recovered. Results: (1) Incidence: 17.37% of children and adolescents aged 2–18 years who had at least more than one syncope; the incidence in the adolescence (28.85%) was higher than that in the school age (8.32%) and in the preschool age (2.71%) (P < 0.01). (2) Age at onset: 13.9 ± 3.1 years old, with a peak age of 16 years. (3) Gender difference: The incidence in adolescent females was higher than that in males (31.72 vs. 26.25%, P < 0.05). In inducements, females had higher rates than males in sweltering environment (P < 0.01), whereas males had higher rates than females in urination (P < 0.05). Dizziness, nausea, sweating, and facial pallor were higher in females than in males in presyncope (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The incidence of syncope in children and adolescents aged 2–18 years in Changsha is 17.37%. The incidence of syncope is different between males and females in different age groups; there are gender differences in syncope inducements and presyncope.