Abstract
BackgroundIn Japan, swimming school attendance is promoted as a form of therapy or as a prophylactic measure against asthma in young children. However, the putative beneficial effects have not been sufficiently verified.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to clarify whether or not swimming school attendance at age 3 years affects the onset and/or improvement of wheeze and rhinitis at age 5 years.MethodsThis study was a single-center, prospective, general, longitudinal cohort study (T-CHILD Study). Between November 2003 and December 2005, 1776 pregnant women were enrolled, and their offspring were followed up until age 5 years. Swimming school attendance at age 3 years and the presence of wheeze and/or rhinitis in the previous one year were examined using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The relationship between swimming school attendance and wheeze and/or rhinitis was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis.ResultsData on the 1097 children were analyzed. At age 3 years, 126 (11.5%) children attended a swimming school, and at age 5 years, the prevalence of wheeze was 180 (16.4%) while that of rhinitis was 387 (35.3%). Swimming school attendance at age 3 showed no significant relationship with the development of either wheeze (aOR 0.83, 95% CI (0.43–1.60) or rhinitis (aOR 0.80, 95% CI (0.43–1.60) at age 5.ConclusionsSwimming school attendance at age 3 years showed neither a preventive nor therapeutic effect on wheeze or rhinitis at age 5 years. There is thus no scientific evidence yet that swimming school attendance has a positive impact on the development of childhood wheeze or rhinitis.
Highlights
A 2015 study reported that the prevalence of wheeze in Japanese children at age 6–8 years was 10.2% [1]
Swimming school attendance at age 3 showed no significant relationship with the development of either wheeze (aOR 0.83, 95% confidence intervals (CI) (0.43–1.60) or rhinitis (aOR 0.80, 95% CI (0.43–1.60) at age 5
There is no scientific evidence yet that swimming school attendance has a positive impact on the development of childhood wheeze or rhinitis
Summary
A 2015 study reported that the prevalence of wheeze in Japanese children at age 6–8 years was 10.2% [1]. Our study group previously identified five phenotypes in the trajectory of wheeze in Japanese children [2]. Childhood asthma was associated with an increased psychological burden and decreased quality of life in caregivers [4,5]. The same study reported that the prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis in children at age 6–8 years was 18.7% and that the prevalence of nasal conjunctivitis had been increasing for ten years [1]. Allergic rhinitis usually decreases QOL and is associated with sleep disturbance and reduced daily activity [6,7]. Wheeze and rhinitis are common symptoms in the clinical setting and their prevalence is high among preschool-aged children. The putative beneficial effects have not been sufficiently verified
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