Prevalence and Correlates of Early Onset Asthma and Wheezing in a Healthy Birth Cohort of 2- to 3-Year Olds

Abstract

Findings confirm and extend previous work documenting demographic risks and highlight smoking, violent events, and social support in early onset asthma and wheezing. Findings illustrate the need for ecologically based interventions to treat asthma and wheezing in young children.

Community violence and childhood asthma prevalence in peripheral neighborhoods in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil

“…Various studies in the last decade, the majority of which in the United States, identified an association between community violence and asthma 8,9,10,11,12,20 . Although the studies analyzed different outcomes, like hospitalizations and occurrence and number of days with symptoms, besides distinct contexts, they showed a similar association to that found in our study.…”

“…In addition, the independent variable "community violence" was not measured directly with a specific instrument. The majority of the studies on the theme have found that exposure to a violent act such as being assaulted or witnessing a fight involving firearms or knives is already representative of the community violence phenomenon 8,9,10,11,12,20 . When the SCAALA project was designed, there were no validated indicators for measuring this phenomenon in the Brazilian population, or for Table 2 Logistic regression between items on community violence and presence of asthma symptoms.…”

“…All the questions referred to a one-year period prior to the interview. These items were chosen on the basis of international studies investigating community violence and using similar questions 10,20 , in addition to three other studies in which community violence was defined as having been a victim or having witnessed a violent act in the community 9,12 , as well as school absences due to fear of violence 11 .…”

“…The sum of the items comprised a score varying from zero exposure (absence of violence) to an exposure of 4 to 5 (maximum exposure to violence), with various intermediate degrees, namely: minimal (level 1), moderate (level 2), and high (level 3). The score's composition in five degrees follows the model adopted in two North American studies 10,20 .…”

Violence, Abuse, and Asthma in Puerto Rican Children

“…Among 851 low-income children, increased exposure to community violence was associated with a higher number of daytime and nighttime asthma symptoms (7). In a birth cohort study, violence exposure was associated with an increased risk of wheezing at age 2-3 years (25).…”