Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine age and gender-specific occurrences of asthma (atopic and non-atopic) and other allergic reactions in Swedish children at daycare facilities.
Result
The study shows that a number of environmental issues in Swedish daycare centres could be improved to prevent allergies and asthma. Moreover, 39% of the ordinary daycare centres have experienced instances of mould or excessively high humidity levels. The four criteria that are normally used to identify asthma among children (diagnosis by a doctor; the child has had asthma before; has had four or more episodes of respiratory difficulties over the last 12 months and finally, needs an inhaler) yielded similar results in terms of prevalence in the groups of children. The types of asthma identified were very similar among boys and girls. However, prevalence was on average one and a half per cent higher among boys than among girls. The most significant variable (of the variables local population density, age and gender) in the prediction of asthma was population density, and the study shows a high correlation between the prevalence of asthma, hay fever, eczema and food allergies. At the follow-up, five years later, there was a high correlation between children who had developed asthma and indications of asthma in the baseline study. The baseline study shows that the following factors had a significant impact on later occurrences of asthma: food allergies, respiratory difficulties over the past 12 months, rhinitis, rhinitis in parents, asthma in parents, age and occurrences of eczema.
Design
All 91 localised allergy preventive daycare centres in Sweden, and each of these 91 daycare centres' two geographically closest ordinary daycare centres, received a questionnaire concerning matters at the centre that have a potential significance for the development of asthma. All parents of children at the daycare centres received a questionnaire about the health of their child with focus on asthma and allergy as well as background information. Five years later, parents of children who had participated in the baseline study received a follow-up questionnaire in order to monitor trends in the diseases.
References
Bröms, K. (2010). A nationwide study of asthma and allergy in Swedish preschool children: With special reference to environment, daycare, prevalence, co-occurrence and incidence. Uppsala: Uppsala University. Digital comprehensive summaries of Uppsala dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine, 542, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.
Financed by
The Vårdal Foundation, Astma- och Allergiförbundet, Max Matthiessens Foundation, Bror Hjerpstedts Foundation, Centrum för Forskning och Utveckling Uppsala Universitet/Landstinget Gävleborg and Gästrikland Primary Health Care Administration