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Hygiene hypothesis: association between hygiene and asthma among preschool children in Lebanon

Souheil Hallit1, Hala Sacre2, Nelly Kheir3

  • 1Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon; Institut National de Santé Publique (INSPECT-LB), Epidémiologie Clinique et Toxicologie - Liban, Beirut, Lebanon; souheilhallit@hotmail.com.

Allergologia Et Immunopathologia
|February 2, 2021
PubMed

Insights

This study found no link between hygiene practices and asthma in Lebanese preschoolers. Further research is needed to understand the hygiene hypothesis and childhood asthma development.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • The hygiene hypothesis suggests reduced microbial exposure increases allergy and asthma risk.
  • Its association with asthma in preschool children requires further investigation, particularly in diverse populations.
  • Understanding hygiene's role is crucial for developing effective asthma prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To validate a scale measuring the hygiene hypothesis in Lebanese preschool children.
  • To examine the association between hygiene practices and asthma prevalence in this cohort.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 515 preschool children (aged 3-5 years) in Lebanon.
  • Validated a specific hygiene hypothesis scale using factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha.
  • Assessed asthma and risk factors via a standardized questionnaire.

Main Results:

  • The hygiene hypothesis scale demonstrated good construct validity, explaining 65.86% of the variance with nine factors.
  • No significant association was found between the hygiene hypothesis score and asthma odds (p=0.881).
  • Factors like male gender, pesticide exposure, bedroom heating, kindergarten attendance, maternal smoking, maternal asthma history, and respiratory infections were associated with increased asthma odds.

Conclusions:

  • Home cleaning and personal hygiene were not correlated with asthma in Lebanese preschoolers.
  • Larger prospective studies are recommended to assess the hygiene hypothesis and its link to asthma.
  • Future research should quantify exposure to specific toxicants to better evaluate the hygiene hypothesis.
Abstract

Keywords:
asthmachildrenhygienehypothesispreschool

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