Home risk factors for childhood pneumonia in Nanjing, China

Abstract

Pneumonia is a major cause of childhood morbidity in China. Many studies of rural areas have found an association between pneumonia and air pollution from burning of bio-mass. The present study is of children living in urban, modern homes without burning of bio-mass. In order to investigate potential home risk factors associated with children's pneumonia, China Child Home Health (CCHH) questionnaires were randomly distributed to parents of 6461 children in 23 kindergartens in all 11 districts of Nanjing, covering urban, suburban, and industrial areas. The 4014 valid questionnaires (response rate 65.7%) were returned and have been analyzed. The lifetime incidence of pneumonia in Nanjing children 1-8 years old is 26.7%. The incidence of croup, asthma and frequent common colds was strongly associated with pneumonia, as was a history of allergies in the family, and persons other than parents (for example grandparents or nanny) taking care of the child. Several home environmental factors, namely, dampness, lack of ventilation, using coal or natural gas (electricity as reference) for cooking, new furniture, and "modern" floor and wall covering materials were also significantly associated with pneumonia. The indoor environment typical of modern apartments in China was a risk factor for pneumonia among children.ventilation, dampness, life style, pneumonia

Ten cities cross-sectional questionnaire survey of children asthma and other allergies in China

“…The children in this study are primarily living in new and modern apartments with lower air exchange rates than old apartments (see articles from Nanjing [65], and Urumqi [59] for further discussion).…”

“…The questionnaire was tested in a pilot study of 100 children in Chongqing in April 2010, and thereafter adjusted to improve readability. For details about questionnaire design, see articles for specific CCHH cities [58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. …”

Home dampness-related exposures increase the risk of common colds among preschool children in Shanghai, China: Modified by household ventilation

“…[18], Wang, T. [19], Zhang, M. [20], Zheng, X. [21], Wang, H. [22] et al conducted cross-sectional survey in Taiyuan, Urumqi, Wuhan, Nanjing, Chongqing and other cities in China during 2011e2012. All these results demonstrated that among these environmental factors, the indoor dampness increase the incidence of childhood asthma, rhinitis and other respiratory disease.…”

A survey investigation of the associated effect of using air conditioning equipment on children’s health in Nanjing

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