Respiratory symptoms and home environment in children: a national survey

Background-Respiratory diseases are common in childhood and may lead to chr onic disease in adult life; environmental factors probably play an importan t part in their causation. Methods-A survey of respiratory symptoms in children aged 12-14 years was c onducted throughout Great Britain as part of the International Study of Ast hma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Information was obtained on certain aspects of the home environment in order to assess their importance as ris k factors. Results-The response rate was 79.3%, and 25 393 children in 93 schools part icipated. In a multiple regression analysis, wheeze was reported more often in nonmetropolitan areas and in association with active smoking, passive s moking, the presence of a furry pet, bottled gas, paraffin, and other unusu al heating fuels; small regional differences persisted. Current smoking, pr evious smoking, and passive smoking accounted for 10.4%, 6.8%, and 6.5%, re spectively, of wheezing in the past 12 months, and furry pets accounted for 5.0%. Cough and phlegm were associated with active and passive smoking and with the miscellaneous fuels; similar associations were found for rhinitis , but were less consistent for rhinitis occurring in spring and summer. Gas cooking showed little association with respiratory symptoms. Conclusions-Passive as well as active smoking is an important cause of resp iratory symptoms in adolescence. Pets seem to increase the risk of wheeze a nd rhinitis, and fumes from certain unusual heating fuels may have adverse effects. Home environment and geographical location have independent effect s on the prevalence of respiratory symptoms.