The prevalence of environmental exposure to perceived asthma triggers in children with mild-to-moderate asthma: Data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP)

Background: The Childhood Asthma Management Program, a 5-year randomized cl inical trial of treatments for childhood asthma, has enrolled and character ized a cohort of 1041 children with mild-to-moderate asthma, Objective: We sought to describe self-reported sensitivities and environmen tal exposures and investigate the relationships between self-report of thes e exposures as asthma triggers and their prevalence in the home. Methods: Self-reports of sensitivities and home exposures were obtained by interview with the child or parent. Sensitivities were further assessed by using allergy skin testing (prick or puncture) against a core battery of al lergens. Home exposures were further assessed by using analysis of a home d ust sample. Results: Environmental exposures were surprisingly common despite self-repo rted sensitivities to environmental factors. Of patients reporting that cig arette smoking frequently causes asthma symptoms, 26% reported having at le ast one parent who smokes cigarettes, Thirty-nine percent of patients repor ting that exposure to animals frequently causes asthma symptoms live with a furry pet in their home, We found a smaller proportion of homes with a hig h level of cat allergen (P < .001) among the children who reported that ani mals frequently or always trigger asthma symptoms compared with those who r eported that animals never or occasionally trigger asthma symptoms, suggest ing modification of the home environment. No such results were seen for dog exposure. However, clinical symptoms did not reduce exposure to parental c igarette smoking (P = .15), house dust (P = .31), or damp and musty areas ( P = .51).