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February asthma outbreaks in NSW: a case control study
S Lister1, V Sheppeard, G Morgan
1Environmental Health Branch, New South Wales Health Department, Gladesville.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
|February 5, 2002
Summary
Children without siblings, especially older ones, face a higher risk of hospital admission during asthma outbreaks. Having siblings appears to offer a protective effect against severe asthma episodes in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Asthma outbreaks in children pose significant public health challenges.
- Understanding individual risk factors is crucial for outbreak management and prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify individual factors associated with asthma-related hospital admissions in children during an outbreak.
- To investigate the role of family structure and age in asthma outbreak severity.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted in Sydney, Australia.
- Cases were children hospitalized for asthma; controls were children hospitalized in the preceding three months.
- Structured telephone surveys and logistic regression analyses were employed to identify risk factors.
Main Results:
- The presence of one or more siblings significantly reduced the risk of hospital admission during an asthma outbreak (OR=0.59).
- Children with older siblings (10-14 years) showed a markedly lower risk of admission (OR=0.3).
- An age-dependent effect was observed, with other demographic, clinical, and environmental factors not showing significant associations.
Conclusions:
- Siblings, particularly older ones, confer a protective effect against severe asthma outcomes during outbreaks.
- Findings suggest an infective etiology for the observed asthma outbreak.
- Further research into environmental factors is needed to predict and prevent future asthma episodes.