Background

The burden of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) is high in childhood. Several residential exposures may affect relative rates.

Objectives

To determine risk of RTIs in children ages 11 and 12 by residential exposures.

Methods

We included children in the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) at ages 11 and 12. We estimated incidence risk ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for counts of RTIs within the last year by exposure to mold/dampness, gas stove usage, summer and winter candle-burning, fireplace usage, cats and dogs indoors, and farmhouse living. We also estimated IRR and 95% CI for RTIs for predicted scores of four extracted factors (‘owned house’, ‘mold and dampness’, ‘candles’, and ‘density’) from exploratory factor analyses (EFA).

Results

We included 42 720 children with complete data. Mold/dampness was associated with all RTIs (common cold: IRR_adj 1.09[1.07, 1.12]; influenza: IRR_adj 1.10 [1.05, 1.15]; tonsillitis: IRR_adj 1.19 [1.10, 1.28]; conjunctivitis: IRR_adj 1.16 [1.02, 1.32]; and doctor-diagnosed pneumonia: IRR_adj 1.05 [0.90, 1.21]), as was the EFA factor ‘mold/dampness’ for several outcomes. Gas stove usage was associated with conjunctivitis (IRR_adj 1.25 [1.05, 1.49]) and with doctor-diagnosed pneumonia (IRR_adj 1.14 [0.93, 1.39]). Candle-burning during summer, but not winter, was associated with several RTIs, for tonsillitis in a dose-dependent fashion (increasing weekly frequencies vs. none: [IRR_adj 1.06 [0.98, 1.14], IRR_adj 1.16 [1.04, 1.30], IRR_adj 1.23 [1.06, 1.43], IRR_adj 1.29 [1.00, 1.67], and IRR_adj 1.41 [1.12, 1.78]).

Conclusion

Residential exposures, in particular to mold and dampness and to a lesser degree to indoor combustion sources, are related to the occurrence of RTIs in children.

中文翻译：

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住宅暴露于霉菌、潮湿和室内空气污染以及呼吸道感染的风险：一项针对丹麦国家出生队列中 11 岁和 12 岁儿童的研究

背景

儿童时期呼吸道感染（RTI）的负担很高。一些住宅风险可能会影响相对利率。

目标

通过居住暴露来确定 11 岁和 12 岁儿童患 RTI 的风险。

方法

我们将 11 岁和 12 岁的儿童纳入丹麦国家出生队列 (DNBC)。我们估计了去年因暴露于霉菌/潮湿、气体而导致的 RTI 计数的发病风险比 (IRR) 和 95% 置信区间 (CI)炉灶的使用、夏季和冬季的蜡烛燃烧、壁炉的使用、室内的猫和狗以及农舍生活。我们还根据探索性因素分析 (EFA) 中四个提取因素（“自有房屋”、“霉菌和潮湿”、“蜡烛”和“密度”）的预测分数，估计了 RTI 的 IRR 和 95% CI。

结果

我们纳入了 42 720 名拥有完整数据的儿童。霉菌/潮湿与所有 RTI 相关（普通感冒：IRR _adj 1.09[1.07, 1.12]；流感：IRR _adj 1.10 [1.05, 1.15]；扁桃体炎：IRR _adj 1.19 [1.10, 1.28]；结膜炎：IRR _adj 1.16 [1.02] ，1.32]；以及医生诊断的肺炎：IRR _adj 1.05 [0.90，1.21]），几个结果的 EFA 因素“霉菌/潮湿”也是如此。燃气灶的使用与结膜炎（IRR _adj 1.25 [1.05, 1.49]）和医生诊断的肺炎（IRR _adj 1.14 [0.93, 1.39]）相关。夏季而非冬季的蜡烛燃烧与多种扁桃体炎的 RTI 相关，且呈剂量依赖性（每周频率增加与无频率相比：[IRR _adj 1.06 [0.98, 1.14]，IRR _adj 1.16 [1.04, 1.30] 、 IRR _adj 1.23 [1.06, 1.43]、IRR _adj 1.29 [1.00, 1.67] 和 IRR _adj 1.41 [1.12, 1.78]）。

结论

住宅暴露，特别是霉菌和潮湿，以及较小程度的室内燃烧源，与儿童 RTI 的发生有关。