Abstract
BackgroundEczema is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with impaired quality of life. We identified indoor environmental risk factors, to provide strong evidence for the prevention and control of eczema in preschool children.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional study with stratified random cluster sampling, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey among 8153 parents of children aged 2–8 years in 60 kindergartens in six districts of Urumqi city during August 2019.ResultsAmong 8153 preschool children, 12.0% of the children have been diagnosed with eczema. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that caesarean section (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–1.36), being an only child (OR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.18–1.57), presence of mould or moisture in the mother’s home before pregnancy (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.17–2.00), presence of flies or mosquitoes in the dwelling currently (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.10–1.55), pets kept in the child’s home currently (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.01–1.51), presence of pets during child’s first year (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.14–1.85), and family history of eczema (OR = 3.53, 95% CI: 2.98–4.19) are the risk factors for the development of eczema, whereas ethnicity other than the Han Chinese (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.61–0.96) is a protective factor for eczema.ConclusionPreschool children in Urumqi are at a high risk of eczema, particularly those of the Han Chinese ethnicity. Parents should be attentive to the indoor living environment of children and take actions to reduce indoor humidity, pest control and elimination, and avoid raising pets to reduce the risk of development of eczema in children.
Highlights
Eczema is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with impaired quality of life
Many domestic and international studies have analysed the factors associated with the prevalence of eczema in preschool children
There is a lack of research on the prevalence of eczema and the related influencing factors in minority population areas of Xinjiang, and considerably less research on the risk factors of eczema in preschool children
Summary
We identified indoor environmental risk factors, to provide strong evidence for the prevention and control of eczema in preschool children. Many domestic and international studies have analysed the factors associated with the prevalence of eczema in preschool children. Two studies in the United States and Sweden showed that the prevalence of eczema was 20 and 23%, respectively [6, 7]. Due to the specific lifestyle of the people in Xinjiang, the incidence of asthma, pneumonia, and allergic rhinitis is relatively high [5, 9]; large-scale epidemiological investigation of eczema has not been conducted. There is a lack of research on the prevalence of eczema and the related influencing factors in minority population areas of Xinjiang, and considerably less research on the risk factors of eczema in preschool children
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