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

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.