Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore risk factors related to asthma prevalence among preschool and school-aged children using a representative national dataset from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted from 2009–2011. We evaluated the demographic information, health status, household environment, socioeconomic status, and parents’ health status of 3,542 children aged 4–12 years. A sex-stratified multivariate logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted prevalence odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals after accounting for primary sample units, stratification, and sample weights. The sex-specific asthma prevalence in the 4- to 12-year-old children was 7.39% in boys and 6.27% in girls. Boys and girls with comorbid atopic dermatitis were more likely to have asthma than those without atopic dermatitis (boys: OR = 2.20, p = 0.0071; girls: OR = 2.33, p = 0.0031). Boys and girls with ≥1 asthmatic parent were more likely to have asthma than those without asthmatic parents (boys: OR = 3.90, p = 0.0006; girls: OR = 3.65, p = 0.0138). As girls got older, the prevalence of asthma decreased (OR = 0.90, p = 0.0408). Girls residing in rural areas were 60% less likely to have asthma than those residing in urban areas (p = 0.0309). Boys with ≥5 family members were more likely to have asthma than those with ≤3 family members (OR = 2.45, p = 0.0323). The factors related to asthma prevalence may differ depending on sex in preschool and school-aged children. By understanding the characteristics of sex-based differences in asthma, individualized asthma management plans may be established clinically.
Highlights
Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease with serious clinical outcomes
Boys had a higher asthma prevalence than girls, and there was a higher proportion of girls with comorbid atopic dermatitis than there was of boys
The proportion of boys with comorbid atopic dermatitis was higher among those with asthma than those without asthma (27.3% vs. 13.6%, respectively; p = 0.0008), and a similar result was observed in girls (30.0% vs. 16.7%, respectively; p = 0.0078)
Summary
Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease with serious clinical outcomes. The prevalence of this noncommunicable disease has increased, and asthma currently affects approximately 235 million people and 14% of children worldwide [1, 2]. Frequent symptom recurrences can result in socioeconomic burdens on patients and a reduced quality of life. The Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey showed that 24% of all school days missed by children and adolescents were related to asthma, indicating that asthma has a major impact on their quality of life and learning ability [6]
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