Differences Between the Spectra of Respiratory Illnesses in Children Living in Urban and Rural Environments

Abstract

A longitudinal study launched in 1994 within the framework of the Teplice Programme aimed at comparing the respiratory morbidity in children born (1994-1998) and living in the districts of Teplice (TE) and Prachatice (PRA) in the Czech Republic. Lists of all illnesses of 960 children from birth to 10 years of age were obtained from paediatric medical records. From 26,471 diagnoses (in ICD-10 codes), 34.7% were diagnoses of upper respiratory infections (URI, J00-02, J06), 11.3% of tonsillitis, 10.2% of influenza, 9.4% of bronchitis, 8.9% of laryngitis/tracheitis (J04), 2.7% of otitis media, and 0.5% of pneumonia. The more polluted district of Teplice was divided into two parts: the town itself (TE-town) and the rest of the district (TE-district). The cumulative incidence rates of the above respiratory illnesses per 100 children per 10 years were 2,212 in TE-town, 2,192 in PRA and 1,985 in TE-district. In the first two years of life, the children from TE-town had a significantly higher incidence of laryngitis/tracheitis, influenza, otitis media, and pneumonia and significantly lower incidence of bronchitis and tonsillitis than children living in PRA. The incidence rates of laryngitis/tracheitis and influenza in TE-town persisted as the highest among the three regions till the age of 10 years. The incidence rates of bronchitis (from the 1st to 5th year) and URI (from 4th to 10th year) were highest in children living in PRA. When compared to TE-town, children in TE-district had a higher incidence of upper respiratory infections (1-8 years) and lower incidence of bronchitis (6-8 years). Children in the district of Prachatice had a significantly higher prevalence of allergic rhinitis and a lower prevalence of wheezing than children in the district of Teplice. Thus, the three regions differed by the spectra of respiratory illnesses rather than by overall morbidity and, hypothetically, the effects of air pollution were obscurred by differences in the degree of urbanization.

Air Pollution and Otitis Media in Children: A Systematic Review of Literature

“…The 24 included papers represented a range of study designs: nine cohort studies, two case control studies, four case cross-over studies, eight cross sectional studies, and one time-series study ( Table 1 , Table 2 and Table 3 ). Among the nine papers describing cohort studies, seven were birth cohorts [ 13 , 14 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Of these, a single paper combined 10 birth cohorts and provided pooled estimates for the risk of air pollution exposure and reported OM [ 13 ].…”

“…Altogether, there were 15 different cohorts included from the seven papers reporting associations between air pollution and OM from birth cohort studies [ 13 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. All the birth cohorts were from either Europe or North America [ 13 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. The remaining two cohort papers were from a retrospective study of Chinese kindergarten children [ 29 ].…”

Influences the Aeromath in the Way of Ending Births

“…Similar differences in the respiratory morbidity were observed between Teplice town and Teplice district for laryngitis, tracheitis, and influenza at the age 0-6 years and bronchitis, laryngitis, tracheitis, and influenza at the age 6-10 years. The prevalence of allergies at the age of 6 years diagnosed as wheezing was higher in the Teplice district (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.4), but allergic rhinitis was higher in the Prachatice district (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.7-4.2) [18].…”

“…The data covering the period from birth to 10 years were available for 960 children, i.e., 245 boys and 269 girls in the Teplice district and 227 boys and 219 girls in the Prachatice district. Respiratory infections were reported using International Codes of Diseases -10 (ICD-10 codes) [18].…”

Cardiac glycosides use and the risk and mortality of cancer; systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

“…WHO expects an increase in the number of new cancer cases to 22 million and cancer deaths to 13 million annually over the next 2 decades [5]. So, extensive research must be done to identify possible risk factors and potential therapeutic agents.…”