Atopy, passive smoking, respiratory infections and asthma among children from kindergarten and elementary school

Abstract

CONTEXT: It has been demonstrated that children exposed to parents who smoke have more respiratory infections and asthma. OBJECTIVE: To study the association of both respiratory infections and asthma attacks with atopy, passive smoking and time spent daily at school, among children aged 4 to 9 years old from a kindergarten and elementary school in the city of São Paulo between May and July of 1996. TYPE OF STUDY: Descriptive study. SETTING: A kindergarten and elementary school with linkages to Universidade Federal de São Paulo/Escola Paulista de Medicina. PARTICIPANTS: 183 children between 4 and 9 years old. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: A questionnaire consisting of 31 questions was answered by the parents of 183 children, and skin tests for inhaled antigens were performed on 88 children whose parents had given prior agreement for the procedure. RESULTS: Among the children, 51% had had respiratory infections during the preceding 3 months and 25.7% were asthmatic, of whom 52.1% had had one or more asthma attacks during the preceding 3 months. Children exposed to passive smoking did not have more respiratory infections or asthma attacks in comparison with those not exposed. We observed a significant association between atopic disorders in parents and children who were not exposed to passive smoking. There were also associations between atopic disorders in parents and asthma attacks in their infants, and between such disorders and a higher incidence of respiratory infections in the infants during the preceding 3 months. However, the presence of two or more positive skin tests for allergies did not have a correlation with respiratory infections and asthma attacks in this sample. In addition to this, children who studied full time at school did not have a higher occurrence of respiratory infections and asthma attacks. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of respiratory infections and asthma was associated with atopic parents but not with the presence of two or more positive skin tests for allergies among the children. Also, respiratory infections and asthma attacks were not associated with smoking parents or with the length of time spent by the children at school.

Prevalence of allergen sensitization, most important allergens and factors associated with atopy in children

“…30 Paternal atopic disease has been correlated with a higher risk of allergic diseases among children. [31][32][33] We found a relationship between skin prick test positivity and a family history of atopic disease and maternal asthma.…”

“…In addition, the presence of respiratory infections and asthma were not associated with parents who smoked or with studying at boarding school. 33 However, other studies have found a correlation between asthma and passive exposure to cigarette smoke, especially maternal smoking. 39,40 Chong Neto et al found the following risk factors for wheezing within the first year of life: male gender; history of asthma in the family; six or more episodes of cold virus infection; atopic eczema; age at which the child began daycare; and pets in the home during pregnancy.…”

Household Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Respiratory Diseases among Children in Niš (Serbia)

“…More than half of surveyed children were exposed to ETS, and 82% of children exposed to this risk factor had respiratory problems: cough (OR=1.58; CI=1.09−2.28), wheezing in the chest (OR=1.91; CI=1.36−2.67) and respiratory diseases (asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia) (OR=1.11; CI=1.11−2.31). Increased incidence of lower respiratory tract infections and asthma in children aged 4 to 9 years were found in another research in Brazil (19).…”

Skin prick test reactivity in atopic children and their number of siblings

“…A Brazilian study on 183 children aged 4-9 years who underwent skin prick tests found that the presence of respiratory infections and asthma attacks were not associated with smoking parents, but were associated with a parental history of atopy. 11 A study on tobacco smoke exposure and wheezing disorders in Austrian preschool children found that prenatal environmental tobacco smoke exposure was a risk factor for wheezing and asthma in their subjects. 12 In contrast, we found that tobacco smoke exposure did not play a role in atopic disease.…”