Prevalence of asthma and atopy in two areas of West and East Germany.

Abstract

The German reunification offers a unique opportunity to study the impact of environmental factors on the development of childhood respiratory and allergic disorders in ethnically similar populations. We investigated the prevalence of asthma, hay fever, atopy, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in 9- to 11-year old children in West Germany (n = 5,030) and East Germany (n = 2,623). A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the parents. Children underwent cold air challenge and allergy skin prick tests. Atopic sensitization was considerably more frequent in West German children than in their peers in East Germany (36.7% versus 18.2%; odds ratio [OR] = 2.6, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of current asthma and hay fever was significantly higher in West Germany when compared with that in East Germany (5.9% versus 3.9%; OR = 1.5, p < 0.0001 and 8.6% versus 2.7%; OR = 3.4, p < 0.0001, respectively). Bronchitis, however, was more prevalent in East Germany than in the western part of the country. The prevalence of BHR as assessed by cold air challenge was higher in West Germany compared with that in East Germany (8.3% versus 5.5%, OR = 1.6, p < 0.001). Logistic regression showed that the West German study area was no longer a significant independent determinant of asthma once sensitization to mites, cats, and pollen was taken into account. We conclude that sensitization to aeroallergens is strikingly more frequent in West Germany than in East Germany and this may explain the differences in the prevalence of asthma and hay fever between the two parts of the country.

Prevalencia de síntomas de rinitis alérgica y su relación con factores de riesgo en escolares de Santiago, Chile

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Asthma and atopy – the price of affluence?

“…Another line of compelling evidence of the East-West gradient in the occurrence of atopic diseases comes from studies performed in Germany after the reunification in 1989. von Mutius et al (10) showed that in genetically similar individuals, the prevalence of atopic diseases [current asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, atopic sensitization assessed by skin prick tests (SPT)] were significantly higher among school children (n ¼ 7445) living in the former West (Munich) as compared with the children (n ¼ 4534) in former East Germany (Leipzig and Halle). This study confirmed the preliminary findings published 2 years earlier by the same group (11).…”

Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Protects against Exacerbation of Allergic Asthma Due toBordetella pertussisin a Murine Model

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