Nadja Hawwa Vissing1, Bo Lund Chawes1, Morten Arendt Rasmussen1, Hans Bisgaard2. 1. Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 2. Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark bisgaard@copsac.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a large, unexplained variation in the frequency of childhood infections. We described incidence and risk factors of infections in early childhood. METHODS: Simple infections were captured during the first 3 years of life in the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2000 birth cohort. Environmental exposures were analyzed by quasi-Poisson regression and sparse principal component analysis. RESULTS: The 334 children experienced a median of 14 (range 2-43) infectious episodes at ages 0 to 3 years. The overall rate of infections was associated with the number of children in the day care (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 1.09 [1.2-1.16]) and the m2 per child in the day care (aIRR 0.96 [0.92-0.99]). Upper respiratory infections were also associated with the number of children in the day care (aIRR 1.11 [1.03-1.20]) and the m2 per child in the day care (aIRR 0.95 [0.91-0.99]), whereas lower respiratory infections were associated with caesarean section (aIRR 1.49 [1.12-1.99]), maternal smoking (aIRR 1.66 [1.18-2.33]), older siblings (aIRR 1.54 [1.19-2.01]), and the age at entry to day care (aIRR 0.77 [0.65-0.91]). The sparse principal component analysis revealed a risk factor profile driven by tobacco exposure, social circumstances, and domestic pets, but could only be used to explain 8.4% of the infection burden. CONCLUSIONS: Children experienced around 14 infections during the first 3 years of life, but incidences varied greatly. Environmental exposures only explained a small fraction of the variation, suggesting host factors as major determinants of infectious burden.
BACKGROUND: There is a large, unexplained variation in the frequency of childhood infections. We described incidence and risk factors of infections in early childhood. METHODS: Simple infections were captured during the first 3 years of life in the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2000 birth cohort. Environmental exposures were analyzed by quasi-Poisson regression and sparse principal component analysis. RESULTS: The 334 children experienced a median of 14 (range 2-43) infectious episodes at ages 0 to 3 years. The overall rate of infections was associated with the number of children in the day care (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 1.09 [1.2-1.16]) and the m2 per child in the day care (aIRR 0.96 [0.92-0.99]). Upper respiratory infections were also associated with the number of children in the day care (aIRR 1.11 [1.03-1.20]) and the m2 per child in the day care (aIRR 0.95 [0.91-0.99]), whereas lower respiratory infections were associated with caesarean section (aIRR 1.49 [1.12-1.99]), maternal smoking (aIRR 1.66 [1.18-2.33]), older siblings (aIRR 1.54 [1.19-2.01]), and the age at entry to day care (aIRR 0.77 [0.65-0.91]). The sparse principal component analysis revealed a risk factor profile driven by tobacco exposure, social circumstances, and domestic pets, but could only be used to explain 8.4% of the infection burden. CONCLUSIONS:Children experienced around 14 infections during the first 3 years of life, but incidences varied greatly. Environmental exposures only explained a small fraction of the variation, suggesting host factors as major determinants of infectious burden.
Authors: Emil Dalgaard Christensen; Mathis Hjort Hjelmsø; Morten Arendt Rasmussen; Jakob Stokholm; Jonathan Thorsen; Shiraz Shah; Tamsin Redgwell; Christina Egeø Poulsen; Urvish Trivedi; Jakob Russel; Shashank Gupta; Bo L Chawes; Klaus Bønnelykke; Søren Johannes Sørensen; Hans Bisgaard Journal: Microbiome Date: 2022-07-13 Impact factor: 16.837
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