Risk factors for childhood asthma in Costa Rica.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about factors determining the pathogenesis and severity of asthma in Latin American countries. Costa Rica, one of the most prosperous Latin American nations, has a very high asthma prevalence.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the relation between potential risk factors and childhood asthma in Costa Rica.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study of 214 schoolchildren aged 10 to 13 years participating in phase II of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood.


RESULTS
After adjustment for age, gender, area of residence, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and airway responsiveness to hypertonic saline solution, sensitization to house dust mites was associated with asthma (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 4.4; p = 0.02). In the multivariate analysis, parental education no higher than high school (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.4 to 6.4; p < 0.01) and parental history of asthma (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.3 to 5.2; p < 0.01) were also independent predictors of childhood asthma.


CONCLUSIONS
Sensitization to house dust mites, low parental education, and parental history of asthma are associated with asthma in Costa Rica.
Celedón
J C
JC
Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. juan.celedon@channing.harvard.edu
Soto-Quiros
M E
ME
Silverman
E K
EK
Hanson
L
L
Weiss
S T
ST
D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D003364:Costa Rica / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D008925:Mites; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors