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The impact of early lifestyle factors on wheezing and asthma in Austrian preschool children
Author(s) -
Morass Bernhard,
KiechlKohlendorfer Ursula,
Horak Elisabeth
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00633.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pacifier , asthma , breastfeeding , pediatrics , hay fever , bedroom , demography , civil engineering , sociology , engineering
Aim: This study investigated the influence of early lifestyle factors on the prevalence of asthma and wheezing in preschool children in Tyrol, Austria. Methods: A cross‐sectional questionnaire survey was performed in 1761 preschool children to obtain information on wheezing and asthma in the light of early lifestyle factors. Results: Factors independently associated with an increased risk for wheezing in the past 12 months included high parental education (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1–2.1) and parental hay fever (OR: 1.5, 95%CI: 1.1–2.2). Risk factors for doctor‐diagnosed asthma (DDA) were early pet contact (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1–4.8) and parental asthma (OR: 3.0, 95%CI: 1.0–9.1), whereas breastfeeding decreased the risk (OR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2–1.0). Boiling the pacifier/sucker daily increased the risk for wheezing in the past 12 months (OR: 1.4, 95%CI: 1.0–2.0) and revealed a tendency towards DDA (OR: 1.9, 95% CI: 0.9–4.0). Conclusion: In preschool children, we established an independent association between wheezing in the past 12 months, DDA and boiling frequency of the pacifier/bottle sucker during infancy. The impact of pacifier boiling frequency on atopic diseases on the basis of the hygiene hypothesis needs further investigation.