Sex-Based Differences in Asthma among Preschool and School-Aged Children in Korea

The purpose of this study was to explore risk factors related to asthma prevalence among preschool and school-aged children using a representative national dataset from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted from 2009-2011. We evaluated the demographic information, health status, household environment, socioeconomic status, and parents' health status of 3,542 children aged 4-12 years. A sex-stratified multivariate logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted prevalence odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals after accounting for primary sample units, stratification, and sample weights. The sex-specific asthma prevalence in the 4- to 12-year-old children was 7.39% in boys and 6.27% in girls. Boys and girls with comorbid atopic dermatitis were more likely to have asthma than those without atopic dermatitis (boys: OR = 2.20, p = 0.0071; girls: OR = 2.33, p = 0.0031). Boys and girls with ≥1 asthmatic parent were more likely to have asthma than those without asthmatic parents (boys: OR = 3.90, p = 0.0006; girls: OR = 3.65, p = 0.0138). As girls got older, the prevalence of asthma decreased (OR = 0.90, p = 0.0408). Girls residing in rural areas were 60% less likely to have asthma than those residing in urban areas (p = 0.0309). Boys with ≥5 family members were more likely to have asthma than those with ≤3 family members (OR = 2.45, p = 0.0323). The factors related to asthma prevalence may differ depending on sex in preschool and school-aged children. By understanding the characteristics of sex-based differences in asthma, individualized asthma management plans may be established clinically.