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- Mai, Xiaomei, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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High body mass index, asthma and allergy in Swedish schoolchildren participating in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood : phase II
- 2003
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Ingår i: Acta Paediatrica. - 0803-5253 .- 1651-2227. ; 92:10, s. 1144-1148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To assess the relationship between high body mass index (BMI) and asthma and atopic manifestations in 12-y-old children.Methods: The relationship between high BMI and asthma symptoms was studied in 457 sixth-grade children, with (n= 161) and without (n= 296) current wheeze. High BMI was defined as ±75th percentile of gender-specific BMI reference values for Swedish children at 12 y of age; overweight as a subgroup of high BMI was defined as ±95th percentile. Children with a BMI >75th percentile served as controls. Questionnaires were used to assess asthmatic and allergic symptoms, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness was assessed by hypertonic saline provocation tests.Results: Current wheeze was associated with high BMI after adjustment for confounding factors (adjusted OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.0–2.5) and overweight had an even more pronounced effect (adjusted OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.0–3.6). In addition, asthma severity was associated with high BMI, as evaluated by the number of wheezing episodes during the previous 12 mo among the wheezing children (adjusted OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0–4.0). There was also an association between high BMI and the presence of eczema in wheezing children (adjusted OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.0–4.6). However, high BMI was not significantly associated with hay fever, positive skin prick tests or bronchial hyperresponsiveness.Conclusion: The study confirms and extends a previously observed relationship between BMI and the presence of wheezing and asthma.
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| 2. |
- Annus, T, et al.
(författare)
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Wheezing in relation to atopy and environmental factors in Estonian and Swedish schoolchildren
- 2001
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Ingår i: Clinical and Experimental Allergy. - : Wiley. - 0954-7894 .- 1365-2222. ; 31:12, s. 1846-1853
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases is significantly lower in post socialist Eastern Europe than in Western industrialized countries. The reason for this difference is largely unknown. Different types of childhood wheezing could be related to different risk factors. Objective: To compare the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, asthma and atopic diseases among Estonian and Swedish schoolchildren and to evaluate characteristics for wheezing in the two countries. Methods: In a prevalence study, population-based random samples of 10-11-year-old schoolchildren in Tallinn (n = 979), Estonia and in Link÷ping (n = 911) and ╓stersund (n = 1197), Sweden were studied by a parental questionnaire and skin prick tests (SPT). All 275 children with wheeze in the past 12 months and 710 randomly selected controls within the original cohorts were invited to a case-control study involving a parental questionnaire, examination for flexural dermatitis and bronchial challenge with hypertonic saline. The study adhered to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase II protocol. Results: The prevalence of current wheezing was similar (8-10%) in the three centres, while diagnosed asthma and atopic symptoms were more common in Sweden and cold-related respiratory symptoms were more prevalent in Estonia. Frequent wheezing was more common in Sweden than in Estonia (but significantly so only in ╓stersund). Wheezing children in Sweden had a high rate of positive SPT (49% in Link÷ping and 58% in ╓stersund) bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) (48% in Link÷ping and ╓stersund) and anti-asthmatic treatment (63% in Link÷ping and 81% in ╓stersund). In Estonia, the proportion of wheezing children with positive SPT, BHR and anti-asthmatic treatment was only 26%, 13% and 17%, respectively. Domestic crowding was inversely related to wheezing in one of the study areas (╓stersund). The mean baseline forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was higher in Estonia than in Sweden, both in wheezing and non-wheezing children. Conclusions: Our study suggested that although wheezing symptoms were equally common in Estonia and Sweden, they were less severe in Estonia. More frequent symptoms and a high rate of atopy, BHR and anti-asthmatic medication characterized wheezing children in Sweden. In contrast, BHR, atopy and medication were uncommon among wheezing children in Estonia.
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| 3. |
- Bråbäck, Lennart, et al.
(författare)
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Atopy among schoolchildren in northern and southern Sweden in relation to pet ownership and early life events
- 2001
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Ingår i: Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. - : Wiley. - 0905-6157 .- 1399-3038. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies have suggested a higher prevalence of asthma and allergies in northern, as compared to southern. Scandinavia. The aim of this study was to evaluate regional differences in atopy in relation to pet ownership and certain early life events among schoolchildren. (n=2108) aged 10-11 years from Link÷ping in southern Sweden and ╓stersund in northern Sweden. The parents completed a questionnaire, comprising questions on home environment, heredity, socio-economic conditions, and the core questions on symptoms from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. The children were skin-prick tested to eight common inhalant allergens. Information on maternal smoking habits, gestational age, and anthropometric measures were obtained from the Swedish Medical Birth Registry. The prevalence of atopic symptoms and sensitization to pollen were similar in ╓stersund and in Link÷ping. A higher prevalence of sensitization to animal dander among children in ╓stersund could be linked to a higher occurrence of pets in the community. Current cat ownership was related to less sensitivity to cat allergen but only in children with an atopic heredity. Ponderal index >30 kg/m3 was related to an increased risk of atopic sensitization, both in Link÷ping (adjusted odds ratio 2.1, 95% confidence interval 1.1-4.0) and in ╓stersund (adjusted odds ratio 2.0, 95% confidence interval 1.1-3.5). Maternal smoking during pregnancy was related to an increased risk of atopic sensitization among children in Link÷ping, whereas current smoking was associated with a decreased risk of sensitization in -stersund. In conclusion, we demonstrated that a high occurrence of pets in the community was associated with sensitization, whereas atopic symptoms were essentially unaffected. This study has also suggested an association between body size at birth and atopic sensitization at 10-11 years of age.
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