A case‐control study of risk factors for asthma in New Zealand children

Abstract

Objective : As in other English‐speaking countries, asthma is a major and increasing health problem in New Zealand. This study examined the risk factors for asthma in children aged 7–9. Methods : Cases and controls were randomly selected from participants in the Wellington arm of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Cases were children with a previous diagnosis of asthma and current medication use (n=233), and controls were children with no history of wheezing and no diagnosis of asthma (n=241). Results : After controlling for confounders, factors significantly associated with asthma were maternal (OR=3.36, 95% Cl 1.88–5.99) and paternal asthma (OR=2.67, 95% Cl 1.42–5.02), and male sex (OR=1.81, 95% Cl 1.17–2.81). Children from social classes 5 and 6 or with unemployed parents (OR=2.32, 95% Cl 1.22–4.44) were significantly more likely to have asthma than children in social classes 1 and 2. There was no significant association between having polio vaccination (OR=2.48, 95% Cl 0.83–7.41), hepatitis B vaccination (OR=0.66, 95% Cl 0.42–1.04) or measles/mumps/rubella vaccination (OR=1.43, 95% Cl 0.85–2.41) and asthma. Conclusions : This study has confirmed the associations of family history and lower socio‐economic status with current asthma in 7–9 year old children. The role of vaccinations requires further research.

Asthma and vaccination history in a young adult cohort

“…Yoneyama et al 13 also found that vaccination to BCG inhibits the development of atopic disorders. This is in contrast to reports by Anderson et al 5 and Wickens et al 4 who found no significant associations of atopy or asthma and the various childhood vaccinations investigated in this study. However, most of the previous studies were limited by either weak design (ecological studies, e.g.…”

Pediatric Asthma and its Relation to SocioDemographic Factors in Baghdad

“…There is a controversy about gender and asthma. Some authors suggested a positive association (Guilbert & Krawiec, 2003;Ronmark, Jonsson, Platts & Lundback, 1999;Chatkin, Menezes, Victora & Barros, 2003 and Anonymous-2-(n.d.) While others did not find any association (Wickens et al, 2002;Alba &Alsina, 1999 and Ece et al, 2000).The explanation of gender variation in relation to the childhood asthma is not clear. Cultural habits of our society to keep females more indoor and being less exposed to the outdoor environment may play a role in this respect.…”

“…Cultural habits of our society to keep females more indoor and being less exposed to the outdoor environment may play a role in this respect. In addition, infection among females during infancy and childhood may protect them against asthma (Partridge &Alwan, 1997 andWickens et al, 2001).With respect to the crowding status illustrated in table 1, we could see that the prevalence of asthma is increasing steadily (27.4%, 28.3%, 39.5%) with increased crowding rate (CR) (<3, 3 -5, >5) respectively. And statistically significant association has been found between CR and asthma (χ 2 = 9.52, P=0.009).…”

“…Cultural habits of our society to keep females more indoor and being less exposed to the outdoor environment may play a role in this respect. In addition, infection among females during infancy and childhood may protect them against asthma (Partridge &Alwan, 1997 andWickens et al, 2001).…”

Ethnic disparities in asthma treatment and outcomes in children aged under 15 years in New Zealand: analysis of national databases

“…3 In international studies, English speaking countries have been identified as having high rates of selfreported asthma symptoms in children, with New Zealand having the highest rate. [4][5][6][7][8][9] National and international guidelines for treatment have changed from being based on asthma severity to gaining control of symptoms through a stepwise escalation of medication, maintaining the lowest level of medication that controls asthma symptoms. [10][11][12] Two outcomes indicating poor symptom control and/or inadequate treatment for asthma are hospital admissions for asthma and oral steroid treatment.…”