The impact of early lifestyle factors on wheezing and asthma in Austrian preschool children.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the influence of early lifestyle factors on the prevalence of asthma and wheezing in preschool children in Tyrol, Austria.


METHODS
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed in 1761 preschool children to obtain information on wheezing and asthma in the light of early lifestyle factors.


RESULTS
Factors independently associated with an increased risk for wheezing in the past 12 months included high parental education (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1-2.1) and parental hay fever (OR: 1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-2.2). Risk factors for doctor-diagnosed asthma (DDA) were early pet contact (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.8) and parental asthma (OR: 3.0, 95%CI: 1.0-9.1), whereas breastfeeding decreased the risk (OR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2-1.0). Boiling the pacifier/sucker daily increased the risk for wheezing in the past 12 months (OR: 1.4, 95%CI: 1.0-2.0) and revealed a tendency towards DDA (OR: 1.9, 95% CI: 0.9-4.0).


CONCLUSIONS
In preschool children, we established an independent association between wheezing in the past 12 months, DDA and boiling frequency of the pacifier/bottle sucker during infancy. The impact of pacifier boiling frequency on atopic diseases on the basis of the hygiene hypothesis needs further investigation.
Morass
Bernhard
B
Division of Paediatric Cardiology and Pulmonology, Department of Paediatrics and Adolescents, Innsbruck Medical University, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Kiechl-Kohlendorfer
Ursula
U
Horak
Elisabeth
E
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D041361:Pacifiers; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D013242:Sterilization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires