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Published on: August 7, 2017
Sociodemographic factors, current asthma and lung function in an urban child population
Junwen Yang-Huang1,2, Amy van Grieken2, Evelien R van Meel1,3
1The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Ethnic background, not socioeconomic status, is linked to childhood asthma and lung function in 10-year-olds. Non-western children had higher asthma odds and altered lung function metrics.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Respiratory Health
- Epidemiology
- Sociodemographics
Background:
- Assessing sociodemographic factors associated with current asthma and lung function in children is crucial for public health.
- Understanding these associations can inform targeted interventions and health policies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between various sociodemographic factors and current asthma prevalence.
- To examine the association between sociodemographic indicators and lung function parameters in 10-year-old children.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 5237 children (mean age 9.7 years) in the population-based Generation R Study (2012-2016).
- Sociodemographic factors included parental education, income, financial difficulties, employment, and child's ethnic background.
- Current asthma defined by doctor diagnosis plus wheezing/medication; lung function measured via spirometry (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEF75).
Main Results:
- Ethnic background showed an independent association with current asthma and lung function after adjusting for other sociodemographic factors.
- Children with non-western ethnic backgrounds had higher odds of current asthma (OR: 1.61) compared to Dutch children.
- Non-western children exhibited lower FVC z-scores (-0.25) and higher FEV1/FVC (0.26) and FEF75% (0.15) z-scores.
Conclusions:
- Ethnic background is significantly associated with current asthma and lung function in 10-year-olds, independent of socioeconomic status.
- No significant associations were found between socioeconomic status indicators and current asthma in this cohort.
- Further research is needed to explore potential explanations, including language barriers, healthcare access, or underlying pathophysiological differences.
Background:
We aimed to assess which sociodemographic factors are associated with current asthma and indicators of lung function in 10-year-old children.
Methods:
We analysed data of 5237 children (Mean age: 9.7, SD: 0.3) from the Generation R Study (2012-2016), a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. Indicators of sociodemographic factors included parental educational level, net household income, financial difficulties, parental employment status and child ethnic background. Current asthma (yes/no) was defined as ever doctor-diagnosed-asthma combined with wheezing symptoms or asthma-medication use in the past 12 months. Lung function was measured by spirometry and included forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1 /FVC, and forced expiratory flow after exhaling 75% of FVC (FEF75 ). Within-study sex-, height- and age-adjusted lung function measurements' z-scores were converted.
Results:
After adjustment for all sociodemographic factors, an independent association was observed between ethnic background with current asthma and lung function. Compared with children with a Dutch background, children with a nonwestern ethnic background had a higher odds of having current asthma (OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.53), lower FVC z-score (-0.25, 95% CI: -0.35, -0.14), higher FEV1 /FVC z-score (0.26, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.37) and higher FEF75% z-score (0.15, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.25).
Conclusions:
Among 10-year-old children, ethnic background was associated with current asthma and lung function after adjusting for a wide range of sociodemographic factors. No associations were found between socioeconomic status indicators and current asthma. Explanations for these associations such as language barriers, suboptimal care or pathophysiological differences require further investigation.
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