Risk factors for wheeze in the last 12 months in preschool children

Most children with asthma develop their symptoms before the age of 5 years and many preschool wheezers continue to wheeze in the early school years. I t is thus important to investigate the factors that predispose young childr en to wheeze. The objective of this study was to investigate the relevant e nvironmental and family influences on recent wheeze (wheeze within the last 12 months) in preschool children. A cross-sectional study was conducted in five primary health clinics in the district of Kota Bharu from April to Oc tober 1998. Nurses from these clinics distributed Bahasa Malaysia questionn aires containing questions on asthma symptoms, environmental risk factors, family's social status and family history of atopy and wheeze to preschool children aged 1-5 years during their home visits. The respondents were pare nt(s) or carer(s) of the children. A total of 2,524 (87.7%) complete questionnaires were available for analysi s of risk factors. One hundred and fifty six (6.2%) children had current wh eeze. Significant risk factors associated with current wheeze were a family history of asthma (O.R. = 6.36 95% C.I. = 4.45-9.09), neonatal hospital ad mission (O.R. = 2.38, 95% C.I. = 1.51 - 3.75), and a maternal (O.R. = 2.12, 95% C.I. = 1.31-3.41) or paternal (O.R. = 1.52, 95% C.I. = 0.95-2.43) hist ory of allergic rhinitis. Among environmental factors examined, namely, hou sehold pets, carpeting in bedroom, use of fumigation mats, mosquito coils a nd aerosol insect repellents, maternal and paternal smoking, and air condit ioning, none were associated with an increased risk of wheeze. In conclusio n, the strongest association with current wheeze was a family history of as thma. Also significant were neonatal hospital admission and a history of al lergic rhinitis in either the mother or father. None of the environmental f actors studied were related to current wheeze in preschool children.