title: Factors associated with different hygiene practices in the homes of 15 month old infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Improved hygiene in Westernised regions of the world may be partly responsible for the increased prevalence of diseases of the immune system, such as asthma and atopy. There is a paucity of data on cleanliness norms in young children in the UK and there has been no attempt to identify factors that influence the adoption of particular hygiene practices in the home.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine levels of hygiene in a contemporary cohort of children and identify social and lifestyle factors influencing hygiene practices in the home.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample under study are participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Parental self completion questionnaires provided data on hygiene levels in children at 15 months of age, and a hygiene score was derived from these responses. Multivariable logistic regression models investigated associations between high hygiene scores (top quintile) and a number of perinatal, maternal, social, and environmental factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal smoking during pregnancy, low maternal educational achievement, and living in local authority housing were factors independently associated with high hygiene scores, as was increased use of chemical household products. High hygiene scores were inversely related to living in damp housing and attendance at day care. There were no gender or ethnic differences in hygiene score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Important data on cleanliness norms for infants have been presented. The adoption of hygiene practices is influenced to some degree by social, lifestyle, and environmental factors-with higher hygiene scores occurring in more socially disadvantaged groups. Increased use of chemical household products in the more socially disadvantaged groups within ALSPAC has emerged as an important confounder in any study of hygiene and ill health.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, Department of Child Health, University of Bristol, UK. Andrea.Sherriff@bris.ac.uk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sherriff
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Golding
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D015438:Health Behavior; D006795:Household Products / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010298:Parity; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution