| Title: |
Early life exposure to farm animals and symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema : an ISAAC Phase Three study |
| Authors: |
Brunekreef, Bert; Von Mutius, Erika; Wong, Gary K.; Odhiambo, Joseph; Clayton, Tadd O.; Montefort, Stephen; ISAAC Phase Three Study Group |
| Contributors: |
ISAAC Phase Three Study Group |
| Publisher Information: |
Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association |
| Publication Year: |
2012 |
| Collection: |
University of Malta: OAR@UM / L-Università ta' Malta |
| Subject Terms: |
Farm animals; Asthma in children; Eczema in children; Rhinitis |
| Description: |
We are grateful to the children and parents who willingly cooperated and participated in ISAAC Phase Three and the coordination and assistance by the school staff is sincerely appreciated. The authors also acknowledge and thank the many funding bodies throughout the world that supported the individual ISAAC centres and collaborators and their meetings. The funders of the study had no role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. ; Background: Associations between early life exposure to farm animals and respiratory symptoms and allergy in children have been reported in developed countries, but little is known about such associations in developing countries. Objective: To study the association between early life exposure to farm animals and symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in a worldwide study. Methods: Phase Three of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) was carried out in 6- to 7-year-old children in urban populations across the world. Questions about early life exposure to farm animals (at least once/week) were included in an additional questionnaire. The association between such exposures and symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema was investigated with logistic regression. Adjustments were made for gender, region of the world, language, gross national income and 10 other subject-specific covariates. Results: A positive association was found between early exposure to farm animals and the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema, especially in non-affluent countries. In these countries, odds ratios (ORs) for 'current wheeze', 'farm animal exposure in the first year of life' and 'farm animal exposure in pregnancy' were 1.27 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-1.44] and 1.38 (95% CI 1.21-1.58), respectively. The corresponding ORs for affluent countries were 0.96 (95% CI 0.86-1.08) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.84-1.08), ... |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/22757 |
| DOI: |
10.1093/ije/dyr216 |
| Availability: |
https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/22757; https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyr216 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; The copyright of this work belongs to the author(s)/publisher. The rights of this work are as defined by the appropriate Copyright Legislation or as modified by any successive legislation. Users may access this work and can make use of the information contained in accordance with the Copyright Legislation provided that the author must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the prior permission of the copyright holder. |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.A46627CD |
| Database: |
BASE |