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Asthma and selective migration from farming environments in a three-generation cohort study
Signe Timm1, Morten Frydenberg2, Michael J Abramson3
1Department of Public Health, Danish Ramazzini Centre, Aarhus University, Bartholins Alle 2, Building 1260, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark. signe.timm@ph.au.dk.
European Journal of Epidemiology
|February 8, 2019
Summary
Farm upbringing may protect against asthma, but not due to parents with asthma choosing farm environments. Asthmatic parents, especially those from cities, were more likely to raise children on farms, suggesting environmental adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Epidemiology
- Genetics and Asthma Etiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Farm upbringing is associated with reduced asthma prevalence.
- Selective migration and environmental factors are potential explanations for this observation.
- The role of parental asthma in influencing offspring's upbringing environment remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether parental asthma influences the likelihood of offspring being raised on a farm.
- To differentiate between selective migration and other environmental factors in the farm-asthma association.
- To analyze intergenerational patterns of farm upbringing and parental asthma.
Main Methods:
- Utilized three-generation data from European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS)/Rhine (G0, G1) and Rhine Asthma (RHINESSA) (G2) cohorts.
- Collected data on asthma status and place of upbringing via questionnaires.
- Employed binary regression models to assess the association between parental asthma and offspring farm upbringing.
Main Results:
- No significant association was found between parental asthma and offspring farm upbringing across generations (G0-G1 and G1-G2).
- Parents with asthma born in urban settings were more likely to raise their offspring on farms (RR 2.00).
- Parents with asthma born on farms were less likely to raise their offspring on farms (RR 0.34).
Conclusions:
- The protective effect of farm upbringing against asthma is unlikely to be explained by selective migration of asthmatic families.
- Asthmatic parents may actively choose or adapt their living environment, particularly moving to farms if originating from urban areas.
- Findings suggest complex interplay between genetics, environment, and parental choices in asthma development.
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