Risk factors for recent asthma in Australian preschool children
| Prevalence (%) of risk factor in children | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Risk factor | Without recent asthma (n=784) | With recent asthma (n=190) | Unadjusted odds ratio for recent asthma (95% CI) |
| Atopic (n=650) | 22.9 | 36.6 | 1.94 (1.29 to 2.93) |
| Either parent ever had asthma | 30.6 | 52.8 | 2.53 (1.82 to 3.53) |
| Serious respiratory infection in first 2 years of life3-150 | 28.4 | 49.0 | 2.41 (1.74 to 3.34) |
| Breast fed ever | 88.3 | 82.0 | 0.61 (0.40 to 0.93) |
| Polyunsaturated fats | |||
| low (referent category) | 51.7 | 51.4 | 1.00 |
| medium | 32.8 | 28.7 | 0.88 (0.61 to 1.28) |
| high | 15.5 | 20.0 | 1.30 (0.85 to 2.01) |
| Number of older siblings | |||
| 0 (referent category) | 40.9 | 40.0 | 1.00 |
| 1 | 34.1 | 34.7 | 1.04 (0.72 to 1.51) |
| 2 | 16.7 | 18.4 | 1.13 (0.73 to 1.78) |
| ⩾3 | 8.4 | 6.8 | 0.83 (0.45 to 1.62) |
| Currently living in Lismore (Wagga Wagga is referent category) | 38.3 | 43.7 | 1.25 (0.91 to 1.73) |
| Male (female is referent category) | 51.4 | 59.5 | 1.39 (1.01 to 1.91) |
| Mother smoked during pregnancy | 19.8 | 22.6 | 1.19 (0.81 to 1.74) |
| Either parent smoked in first 6 months of child's life | 38.1 | 45.3 | 1.34 (0.98 to 1.85) |
Unless otherwise stated, the referent category for each risk factor is absence of the risk factor.
↵3-150 Serious respiratory infections included pneumonia, bronchiolitis, whooping cough, bronchitis or croup.