American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on July 13, 2005
American Journal of Epidemiology 2005 162(4):345-350; doi:10.1093/aje/kwi212
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ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
A Comparison of Risk Factors for Wheeze and Recurrent Cough in Preschool Children
1 Department of Epidemiology Research, Danish Epidemiology Science Center, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Research Unit and Department of General Practice, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
3 Department of Pediatrics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
Correspondence to Dr. Christian Hermann, Research Unit of General Practice, Institute of Public Health, 5, Øster Farimagsgade, P.O. Box 2099, DK-1014 Copenhagen K, Denmark (e-mail: c.hermann{at}dadlnet.dk).
In a study of 2,978 Danish children aged 5 years from two suburban counties of Copenhagen, carried out in 1998, the authors compared risk factor profiles for wheeze and recurrent cough without wheeze by using polytomous logistic regression to clarify whether the two conditions are likely to have the same etiology. Data were obtained 1) by a mailed parental questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questions and supplementary questions on cough, sociodemography, perinatal factors, and environmental exposure); 2) through general practitioners (familial allergic disease); and 3) from the National Medical Birth Register (birth weight). Wheeze (WH) was defined as more than one episode of wheeze within the last 12 months (irrespective of cough status) and recurrent cough without WH (RC) as cough occurring outside colds and usually lasting for periods of more than 1 week in children with no more than one attack of wheeze within the last 12 months. Risk factors for comparison were selected as those that, after repeated stepwise logistic regression, remained significant for children with WH or RC. Significant differences were found for gender (p = 0.003), gestational age (p = 0.0002), maternal history of asthma (p = 0.0008), and standard of housing condition (p = 0.04)—all risk factors for WH but not RC. Results may suggest that the two conditions have different etiologies.
asthma; child; cough; diagnosis; health surveys; questionnaires; risk factors
Abbreviations: WH, more than one attack of wheeze within the last 12 months; RC (recurrent cough without WH), cough occurring outside colds and usually lasting for periods of more than 1 week in children with no more than one attack of wheeze within the last 12 months