Relationship between indoor environment and children's common cold in Baotou, Inner Mongolia

Abstract

The common cold is the most common disease in children and is associated with viruses, bacterial infections and low immunity in children. As a susceptible population, children are very sensitive to the common cold. The survey shows that children have an average of 6−8 times a year, usually lasting 7 to 15 days. However, there are few studies in this area in China. This paper discusses the relationship between the indoor environment in Baotou City and the preschool children’s cold. This study is part of the China, Children, Homes, Health (CCHH) program, which aims to identify indoor risk factors associated with asthma and allergies in children. From March to July 2014, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 4709 children aged 3−7 years (74.0% response rate) randomly selected from 37 kindergartens in Baotou City. We found that a total of 4.8% had a high frequency (>5 colds per year) and 6.1% had long duration (≥2 weeks) of common cold in Baotou. A Chi-square test was used for univariate analysis of common cold-related risk factors. A P -value <0.05 was considered as significant. All statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 20.0. Low age children had more common cold than high age children ( P <0.05). Children who received antibiotics and had a family history of allergies had more colds and longer durations ( P <0.001). We analyzed the association between indoor exposure and the common cold. These associations were performed by multiple logistic regression after adjusting for six covariates, including gender, age, family allergy history, breastfeeding, birth patterns, and smoking environment. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated for the logistic regression models. Family allergy history and exposure to condensation were associated with frequent common cold and long duration of common cold. However, bedding that is often exposed to sunlight is negatively correlated with frequent colds (aOR, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.58 to 0.79) and prolonged colds (aOR, 95% CI: 0.59, 0.40 to 0.87). Family history of allergies and contact condensation may be a risk factor for the common cold, and exposure to bedding from the sun may be a protective factor. This study shows that in Baotou, the indoor environment and lifestyle of modern apartments are related to the frequency of the common cold in children and the duration of the cold. To prevent a child from catching a cold, it is important to reduce signs of moisture and often expose the bedding to the sun. Further follow-up studies of indoor environment could verify more about the influence of environmental exposure on the children’s health.