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Asthma associations in children attending a museum of science

Laura Corlin1, Mark Woodin, Danny Newhide

  • 1Community Health Program, Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences, Medford, MA 02155, USA. laura.corlin@tufts.edu

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|September 7, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Environmental and social factors significantly impact pediatric asthma risk in middle-class families. Key predictors include allergies, maternal asthma, family income, and home water damage, highlighting areas for targeted interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
  • Social Epidemiology

Background:

  • Pediatric asthma is a significant public health concern with complex etiology.
  • Understanding the interplay of environmental and social determinants is crucial for effective prevention and management.
  • Middle-class families may face unique challenges and exposures contributing to asthma development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relative importance of environmental and social factors associated with pediatric asthma in middle-class families.
  • To assess the feasibility of recruiting participants for an educational study on asthma risk factors at a science museum.
  • To identify key independent predictors of pediatric asthma through logistic regression analysis.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving a questionnaire administered to parents of children aged 4-12 with English fluency.
  • Data collected included demographics, home environment characteristics, medical history, and environmental toxicant exposures.
  • Statistical analyses, including t-tests, odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), and logistic regression, were employed to identify significant associations.

Main Results:

  • Statistically significant associations with pediatric asthma included child's age, allergies, maternal asthma, parents' education level, family income, home water damage, stuffed animals in the bedroom, hospitalization after birth, pneumonia diagnosis, and frequent colds.
  • Logistic regression identified age, parents' education, allergies, mold allergies, post-birth hospitalization, stuffed animals, vitamin D supplementation, and home water damage as independent predictors.
  • Recruitment at an urban science museum proved to be a low-resource method for this population.

Conclusions:

  • Environmental factors such as home water damage and social factors like parental education and family income are significant predictors of pediatric asthma.
  • Allergies, a history of post-birth hospitalization, and certain lifestyle factors (e.g., stuffed animals) also play a crucial role.
  • Science museums can serve as accessible venues for public health research and education on environmental risk factors for childhood asthma.

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