The effect of farming environment on asthma; time dependent or universal?

The increasing prevalence of asthma is linked to westernization and urbanization. Farm environments have been associated with a lower risk of asthma development. However, this may not be universal, as the association differs across birth cohorts and farming methods. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of farm upbringing with asthma in different generations and at different times in history. The study population consisted of three generations: 13,868 subjects participating in the ECRHS in 2010, their 9,638 parents, and their 8,885 offspring participating in RHINESSA in 2013. Information on place of upbringing and self-reported ever asthma was provided via questionnaires. Logistic regression was performed including subgroup analysis stratified by generation and birthyear into ten-year-intervals. The prevalence of asthma increased from 8% among grandparents to 13% among parents and to 18% among offspring. An overall analysis showed an inverse association of farm upbringing on the risk of asthma (OR = 0.64; 95%CI 0.55-0.74). Subgroup analysis stratified into ten-year-intervals showed a tendency towards a more pronounced inverse association between growing up on a farm and asthma among subjects born in the 1940s (0.74; 0.48-1.12), 1950s (0.70; 0.54-0.90) and 1960s (0.70; 0.52-0.93). For subjects born in 1970 and thereafter this association appeared less consistent. While growing up on a farm was associated with a reduced risk of developing asthma in participants born between 1945-1999, this was mainly driven by generations born from 1945 to 1973.