Parental Report of Indoor Air Pollution Is Associated with Respiratory Morbidities in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between indoor air pollution and respiratory morbidities in children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) recruited from the multicenter BPD Collaborative. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was performed among participants <3 years old in the BPD Collaborative Outpatient Registry. Indoor air pollution was defined as any reported exposure to tobacco or marijuana smoke, electronic cigarette emissions, gas stoves, and/or wood stoves. Clinical data included acute care use and chronic respiratory symptoms in the past 4 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 1011 participants born at a mean gestational age of 26.4 ± 2.2 weeks were included. Most (66.6%) had severe BPD. More than 40% of participants were exposed to ≥1 source of indoor air pollution. The odds of reporting an emergency department visit (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.18-2.45), antibiotic use (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.12-3.21), or a systemic steroid course (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.24-3.84) were significantly higher in participants reporting exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) compared with those without SHS exposure. Participants reporting exposure to air pollution (not including SHS) also had a significantly greater odds (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.08-2.03) of antibiotic use as well. Indoor air pollution exposure (including SHS) was not associated with chronic respiratory symptoms or rescue medication use. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to indoor air pollution, especially SHS, was associated with acute respiratory morbidities, including emergency department visits, antibiotics for respiratory illnesses, and systemic steroid use.

Daycare Attendance is Linked to Increased Risk of Respiratory Morbidities in Children Born Preterm with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that daycare attendance among children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is associated with increased chronic respiratory symptoms and/or greater health care use for respiratory illnesses during the first 3 years of life. STUDY DESIGN: Daycare attendance and clinical outcomes were obtained via standardized instruments for 341 subjects recruited from 9 BPD specialty clinics in the US. All subjects were former infants born preterm (<34 weeks) with BPD (71% severe) requiring outpatient follow-up between 0 and 3 years of age. Mixed logistic regression models were used to test for associations. RESULTS: Children with BPD attending daycare were more likely to have emergency department visits and systemic steroid usage. Children in daycare up to 3 years of age also were more likely to report trouble breathing, having activity limitations, and using rescue medications when compared with children not in daycare. More severe manifestations were found in children attending daycare between 6 and 12 months of chronological age. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, children born preterm with BPD who attend daycare were more likely to visit the emergency department, use systemic steroids, and have chronic respiratory symptoms compared with children not in daycare, indicating that daycare may be a potential modifiable risk factor to minimize respiratory morbidities in children with BPD during the preschool years.

Mortality in Outpatients with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

OBJECTIVES: To study the demographic and clinical characteristics of preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) to identify the factors most strongly predictive of outpatient mortality, with the goal of identifying those individuals at greatest risk. STUDY DESIGN: Demographic and clinical characteristics were retrospectively reviewed for 862 subjects recruited from an outpatient BPD clinic. Characteristics of the deceased and living participants were compared using nonparametric analysis. Regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with mortality. RESULTS: Of the 862 subjects, 13 (1.5%) died during follow-up, for an overall mortality rate of approximately 15.1 deaths per 1000 subjects. Two patients died in the postneonatal period (annual mortality incidence, 369.9 per 100 000), 9 died between age 1 and 4 years (annual mortality incidence, 310.2 per 100 000), and 2 died between age of 5 and 14 years (annual mortality incidence, 71.4 per 100 000). After adjusting for gestational age and BPD severity, mortality was found to be associated with the amount of supplemental oxygen required at discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 4.10; P = .001), presence of a gastrostomy tube (aHR, 8.13; P = .012), and presence of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt (aHR, 4.31; P = .021). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of mortality among preterm infants with BPD is substantially higher than that seen in the general population. The need for greater amounts of home supplemental oxygen and the presence of a gastrostomy tube or CSF shunt were associated with an increased risk of postdischarge mortality. Future studies should focus on clarifying risk factors for the development of severe disease to allow for early identification and treatment of those at highest risk.

Indoor Air Pollution Sources and Respiratory Symptoms in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of exposure to indoor air pollution on respiratory health outcomes (healthcare utilization, symptoms, medication use) in infants and children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). STUDY DESIGN: A total of 244 subjects were included from the Johns Hopkins Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia registry. Parents completed an environmental exposure questionnaire including secondhand smoke and indoor combustion (gas/propane heat, gas or wood stove, gas/wood burning fireplace) exposures in the home. Respiratory symptoms, both acute (healthcare utilization, steroid/antibiotic use) and chronic (cough/wheeze, nocturnal cough, use of beta-agonists, tolerance of physical activity), were also collected. RESULTS: Three-quarters of the infants were exposed to at least 1 combustible source of air pollution in the home, and this exposure was associated with an increased risk of hospitalization in infants and children on home respiratory support. Only 14% of the study population reported secondhand smoke exposure, but we found that this was associated with chronic respiratory symptoms, including activity limitation and nocturnal cough. Infants on respiratory support also had increased daytime cough and wheezing. Approximately one-third reported having an air purifier in the home, and its presence attenuated the effect of secondhand smoke exposure on reported activity limitation. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to combustible sources of indoor air pollution was associated with increased respiratory morbidity in a group of high risk of infants with BPD. Our results support that indoor air pollution is a modifiable risk factor for respiratory health in infants with BPD.

Dietary patterns and asthma among Peruvian children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is one of the conditions that contributes to the global burden of respiratory diseases and has been previously associated with diet intake. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between diet, assessed by a developed score, and asthma in Peruvian children. METHODS: This study was a cross sectional analysis nested within an unmatched case-control study of children in two peri-urban communities of Lima, Peru. We evaluated 767 children and adolescents (573 with asthma, 194 controls) between 9 and 19 years. Diet was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), with food groups classified as "healthy" or "unhealthy". Asthma control, Lung function and atopy were assessed by Asthma Control Test, Spirometry and InmunoCAP 250 test, respectively. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 13.8 years (SD 2.6). Mean diet score was 5 (SD 1.23; range 2-8). Healthy Diet Score was associated with asthma status [OR 0.83, 95% CI (0.72, 0.95), p = 0.009] in adjusted analysis. Thus, participants with higher HDS, had lower odds of asthma. In sensitivity analyses, when adjusting for atopy, results did not change significantly. [OR 0.85, 95% CI (0.72, 0.99); p = 0.04]. No association between the HDS and asthma control, FEV1, nor FeNO were observed. Atopy did not modify the association between diet and asthma outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In our study cohort, better diet quality was associated with lower odds of asthma, but was not associated with asthma control. Diet modification may be a potential intervention to impact the increasing prevalence of this disease.

Association Between Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Asthma in Peruvian Children.

PURPOSE: Adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern may be associated with lower asthma prevalence in children. We sought to corroborate these findings in Peruvian children. METHODS: This case-control study included children of ages 9-19 years living in Lima, Peru. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was completed and diet pattern was analyzed using a modified Mediterranean diet score (MDS). Primary analysis investigated the relationship between MDS and asthma status. Maternal education, age, sex, and body mass index category were included in multivariate model. Secondary outcomes included asthma control, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), allergic rhinitis, and atopic status. RESULTS: 287 participants with asthma and 96 controls without asthma completed a FFQ. Mean age was 13.5 years. According to the asthma control test (ACT), 86 % of those with asthma were controlled (score >19). MDS scores ranged 6-18 (median 15). In adjusted analysis, being above the median MDS scores was associated with decreased odds of asthma [OR = 0.55, 95 % CI (0.33, 0.92), p = 0.02]. Among children whose mothers completed secondary education, being above the median MDS significantly decreased the odds of asthma [OR = 0.31, 95 % CI (0.14, 0.71), p < 0.01], whereas among those whose mothers did not complete secondary education there was no protective effect [OR = 0.86, 95 % CI (0.43, 1.7), p = 0.66]. There was no association between MDS scores and asthma control, FEV1, allergic rhinitis, or atopic status. CONCLUSION: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was inversely associated with having asthma among children in Lima, Peru. This effect was strongest among children with better educated mothers.