Migration and atopic disorder in Swedish conscripts

We have studied asthma and allergic rhinitis prevalence in Swedish conscrip ts born 1973-1977 according to the military service conscription register i n relation to the socio-economic status and country of birth of the conscri pts and their parents, and age when granted residency in Sweden. There was all increase in prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis over time in all groups irrespective of country of birth or ethnic origin. Conscripts who t hemselves were born in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean ha d a significantly lower risk for asthma and allergic rhinitis than Swedish- born conscripts. The risk of atopic disorder among the foreign-born conscri pts increased with time of residency in Sweden. Conscripts with mothers fro m Latin America, Asia and Africa were identified as having the highest risk for atopic disorder among Swedish-born conscripts with high socio-economic status; the adjusted risk ratio (RR) for asthma was 2.6 (95% CI 1.7-4.0) a nd that for allergic rhinitis was 2.0 (1.5-2.6). The conscripts with mother s from the Mediterranean had the lowest risk for atopic disorders of the Sw edish-born conscripts with low socio-economic status; the RR for asthma was 0.43 (0.34-0.56) and that for allergic rhinitis was 0.84 (0.76-0.93). This study demonstrates that factors related to migration and ethnicity are imp ortant determinants of atopic disorder among Swedish conscripts.