Characteristics of the 162 panel members (all aged 9 years by September 1996), of whom 39 (24%) were defined as having suffered recent wheezing on the basis of a parental report on questionnaire
| Birmingham children (n=104) | Sandwell children (n=58) | Subgroup with recent wheezing (n=39) | Subgroup without recent wheezing (n=123) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISC=Indian subcontinent. | ||||
| *Total less than 162 as no response given in two cases. | ||||
| Sex | ||||
| Girls | 52 (50%) | 24 (41%) | 14 (36%) | 62 (50%) |
| Boys | 52 (50%) | 34 (59%) | 25 (64%) | 61 (50%) |
| Ethnicity* | ||||
| ISC | 9 (9%) | 2 (3%) | 4 (10%) | 7 (6%) |
| Black | 7 (7%) | 2 (3%) | 4 (10%) | 5 (4%) |
| White | 88 (85%) | 51 (88%) | 30 (77%) | 109 (89%) |
| Other | 0 (0%) | 1 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) |
| Parental report of respiratory symptoms | ||||
| Wheezing ever | 34 (33%) | 23 (40%) | 34 (87%) | 23 (19%) |
| Wheezing in past 12 months | 23 (22%) | 16 (28%) | 39 (100%) | 0 (0%) |
| Diagnosed asthma | 24 (23%) | 20 (34%) | 28 (72%) | 16 (13%) |
| Nocturnal cough in past 12 months | 27 (26%) | 20 (34%) | 21 (54%) | 26 (21%) |
| Housing factors | ||||
| ≥1 household smoker | 53 (51%) | 27 (47%) | 17 (44%) | 63 (52%) |
| Furry pets | 72(69%) | 35 (60%) | 23 (59%) | 84 (69%) |
| Gas cooking | 85 (82%) | 37 (64%) | 31 (79%) | 91 (75%) |
| Gas fire use | 74 (71%) | 40 (69%) | 27 (69%) | 87 (71%) |
| Damp housing (reported) | 14 (13%) | 6 (10%) | 9 (23%) | 11 (9%) |
| Baseline investigations | ||||
| Atopic (≥1 positive skin test) | 27 (26%) | 23 (40%) | 19 (49%) | 31 (25%) |
| Mean (SD) % predicted FEV1 | 98 (12.5) | 98 (10.5) | 96 (14.2) | 99 (12.5) |
| Mean (SD) % predicted FVC | 89 (13.3) | 89 (13.8) | 86 (15.4) | 90 (12.8) |