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Environmental risk factors for respiratory symptoms and childhood asthma

Joanna Kasznia-Kocot1, Małgorzata Kowalska, Rafał L Górny

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Medical University of Silesia, Bytom, Poland. kasznia_kocot@poczta.onet.pl

Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine : AAEM
|December 29, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Environmental factors significantly impact children's respiratory health. Indoor and outdoor air pollutants, like tobacco smoke and traffic pollution, increase the risk of asthma and wheezing in children.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Childhood respiratory illnesses, including asthma and wheezing, are significant public health concerns.
  • Environmental exposures are increasingly recognized as key contributors to the development of these conditions.
  • Understanding specific risk factors is crucial for developing targeted prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between environmental factors and adverse respiratory health outcomes in children aged 13-15 years.
  • To estimate the prevalence of bronchial asthma, physician-diagnosed asthma, and wheezing in the study population.
  • To identify specific indoor and outdoor environmental risk factors contributing to respiratory symptoms.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 1,130 children aged 13-15 years in Upper Silesia, Poland.
  • Utilized the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, supplemented with questions on risk factors.
  • Analyzed data to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and their correlation with environmental exposures.

Main Results:

  • Prevalence rates: 4.5% for bronchial asthma, 8.7% for physician-diagnosed asthma, and 12.6% for wheezing in the past 12 months.
  • Significant risk factors for wheezing included maternal history of asthma/allergy, maternal smoking, damp/mouldy housing, and older buildings.
  • Children in damp/mouldy homes, heated by coal stoves, or near heavy traffic showed a higher probability of asthma.

Conclusions:

  • Indoor air pollutants (tobacco smoke, coal emissions, dampness/mould) and outdoor air pollution (traffic) are major environmental determinants of childhood respiratory diseases.
  • Maternal genetic predisposition and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke are significant risk factors.
  • Female gender and nursery school attendance demonstrated protective effects against wheezing.

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