title: Nutritional status and childhood wheezing in rural Bangladesh.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between current childhood nutritional status and current wheezing among pre-school children in rural Bangladesh.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Matlab region, rural Bangladesh.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children (n 912) aged 4·5 years. Anthropometric measurements of the mothers and their children were taken during a 1-year period from December 2007 to November 2008. Current wheezing was identified using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. Serum total IgE was measured by human IgE quantitative ELISA. IgE specific antibody to dust mites (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) was measured by the CAP-FEIA system (Phadia AB, Uppsala, Sweden).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Wheezing at 4·5 years old was significantly associated with stunting (OR = 1·58; 95 % CI 1·13, 2·22) and underweight (OR = 1·39; 95 % CI 1·00, 1·94). The association with stunting remained significant after adjustment for sex, birth weight, birth length, gestational age at birth, mother's parity, maternal BMI, family history of asthma, socio-economic status, season of birth and intervention trial arm (OR = 1·74; 95 % CI 1·19, 2·56).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stunting was a significant risk factor for wheezing among rural Bangladeshi children. Further studies will be required to confirm the relationship between nutritional status and allergic illnesses in developing countries.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Clinical Trial and Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine,University of Tsukuba,Tsukuba,Japan.
authors.forename: Mohammad Delwer Hossain
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Hawlader
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine,University of Tsukuba,1-1-1 Tennodai,Tsukuba,Ibaraki 305-8575,Japan.
authors.forename: Emiko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.affiliation: 2International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (icddr,b),Dhaka,Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Shams
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Arifeen
authors.affiliation: 5Department of International Women and Child Health,Uppsala University,Uppsala,Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars Åke
authors.initials: LÅ
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.affiliation: 6MRC International Nutrition Group,London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine,London,UK.
authors.forename: Sophie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: 2International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (icddr,b),Dhaka,Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Rubhana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raqib
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Clinical Trial and Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine,University of Tsukuba,Tsukuba,Japan.
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wagatsuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology*; D001459:Bangladesh; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications*; D008925:Mites; D009752:Nutritional Status; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013851:Thinness / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E