Risk factors for respiratory tract infections in children aged 2-5 years.

OBJECTIVE To study risk factors for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children aged 2-5 years. DESIGN A questionnaire was used to chart the number of visits to doctors and the number of antibiotics courses because of RTIs during a 1-year period. The risk factors studied were age, sex, birth weight, breastfeeding, atopy, siblings, smoking and childcare. SETTING The catchment area of Oxie health centre in southern Sweden. SUBJECTS 190 pre-school children. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of visits to doctors and number of antibiotics courses. RESULTS The risk of having to consult a doctor, as well as the risk of receiving treatment with antibiotics, because of RTIs was greater among children at daycare centres than among children who were mostly at home (adjusted OR 2.78 (95% CI 1.34-5.78) and 2.73 (1.38-5.43), respectively). CONCLUSION Attending a daycare centre is the most important risk factor for RTIs in children aged 2-5 years.

[1]  J. Collet,et al.  Risk of infectious diseases in children attending different types of day-care setting. Epicrèche Research Group. , 1994, Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases.

[2]  A. Håkansson,et al.  Maternal cigarette smoking, breast-feeding, and respiratory tract infections in infancy. A population-based cohort study. , 1992, Scandinavian journal of primary health care.

[3]  M. Theodoridou,et al.  Objective passive-smoking indicators and respiratory morbidity in young children , 1995, The Lancet.

[4]  C. Petersson,et al.  A retrospective study of respiratory tract infections among children in different forms of day care. , 1990, Scandinavian journal of primary health care.

[5]  E. Läärä,et al.  Public health impact of various risk factors for acute otitis media in northern Finland. , 1996, American journal of epidemiology.

[6]  A. Håkansson.  Health complaints and drug consumption during the first 18 months of life. , 1989, Family practice.

[7]  P. Nafstad,et al.  Day Care Centers and Respiratory Health , 1999, Pediatrics.

[8]  K. Prellner,et al.  Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Children , 1990, Acta paediatrica Scandinavica.

[9]  A. Charlton,et al.  Children and passive smoking: a review. , 1994, The Journal of family practice.

[10]  K. Strangert,et al.  Respiratory illness in preschool children with different forms of day care. , 1976, Pediatrics.

[11]  M. Uhari,et al.  A meta-analytic review of the risk factors for acute otitis media. , 1996, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[12]  C. Petersson,et al.  Drug consumption during the first 18 months of life of infants from smoking and non-smoking families. , 1992, The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

[13]  M. Richardson,et al.  Upper airway complications of cigarette smoking. , 1988, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.

[14]  H. Rockette,et al.  Otitis media in 2253 Pittsburgh-area infants: prevalence and risk factors during the first two years of life. , 1997, Pediatrics.

[15]  R. Lew,et al.  Morbidity and mortality in children associated with the use of tobacco products by other people. , 1996, Pediatrics.

[16]  C. Petersson,et al.  A prospective study of infectious morbidity and antibiotic consumption among children in different forms of municipal day-care. , 1989, Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases.