Table 2 Characteristics of the study population and frequency of wheeze, eczema and food allergy according to those characteristics (n = 1500)
Variables | Total No. (%) | Probable wheeze No. (%) | Certain wheeze No. (%) | p-value* | Eczema No. (%) | p-value* | Food allergy No. (%) | p-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maternal factors | |||||||||
Age (years) | |||||||||
<28 | 445 (29.7) | 196 (44.5) | 93 (21.14) | 0.59 | 150 (33.9) | 0.28 | 31 (7.0) | 0.12 | |
28 ≤ age < 32 | 542 (36.1) | 236 (43.7) | 114 (21.11) | 176 (32.8) | 50 (9.3) | ||||
≥32 | 513 (34.2) | 224 (43.8) | 93 (18.0) | 149 (29.3) | 55 (10.9) | ||||
Education | |||||||||
≤12 years | 497 (33.2) | 225 (45.6) | 107 (21.7) | 0.17 | 157 (31.8) | 0.96 | 39 (8.0) | 0.27 | |
>12 years | 1000 (66.8) | 430 (43.2) | 192 (19.3) | 317 (32.0) | 97 (9.7)) | ||||
No. of cigarettes/day at beginning of pregnancy | |||||||||
0 | 1111 (74.3) | 490 (44.4) | 213 (19.3) | 0.56 | 348 (31.6) | 0.69 | 102 (9.2) | 0.93 | |
1 to 5 | 205 (13.7) | 85 (41.6) | 50 (24.5) | 64 (31.7) | 19 (9.4) | ||||
>5 | 179 (12.0) | 77 (43.0) | 36 (20.1) | 62 (34.8) | 15 (8.4) | ||||
Folic acid supplementation | |||||||||
Yes | 251 (17.0) | 102 (40.6) | 51 (20.3) | 0.44 | 91 (36.4) | 0.11 | 27 (10.8) | 0.30 | |
No | 1225 (83.0) | 543 (44.6) | 245 (20.1) | 378 (31.2) | 106 (8.7) | ||||
Child/perinatal factors | |||||||||
Familial history of asthma/allergy | |||||||||
Yes | 371 (29.4) | 161 (43.6) | 100 (27.1) | <0.001 | 133 (36.3) | 0.04 | 52 (14.1) | <0.001 | |
No | 890 (70.6) | 372 (42.1) | 159 (18.0) | 269 (30.4) | 69 (7.8) | ||||
Child’s sex | |||||||||
Male | 772 (51.5) | 349 (45.6) | 182 (23.8) | <0.001 | 276 (36.0) | <0.001 | 79 (10.3) | 0.10 | |
Female | 728 (48.5) | 307 (42.3) | 117 (16.1) | 199 (27.6) | 57 (7.9) | ||||
Cesarean section | |||||||||
Yes | 255 (17.3) | 122 (48.0) | 53 (20.9) | 0.17 | 74 (29.5) | 0.40 | 22 (8.7) | 0.83 | |
No | 1218 (82.7) | 523 (43.2) | 236 (19.5) | 389 (32.2) | 110 (9.1) | ||||
Preterm birth (<37 weeks of gestation) | |||||||||
Yes | 49 (3.3) | 26 (53.1) | 16 (32.6) | 0.003 | 17 (34.7) | 0.68 | 4 (8.3) | 0.84 | |
No | 1450 (96.7) | 629 (43.6) | 283 (19.6) | 458 (31.9) | 132 (9.2) | ||||
Small-for-gestational age (<10th percentile) | |||||||||
Yes | 97 (6.5) | 46 (47.9) | 22 (22.9) | 0.35 | 40 (41.7) | 0.03 | 8 (8.2) | 0.75 | |
No | 1401 (93.5) | 608 (43.6) | 277 (19.9) | 435 (31.3) | 128 (9.2) | ||||
No. of siblings at birth | |||||||||
0 | 645 (43.2) | 297 (46.5) | 100 (15.6) | 0.004 | 213 (33.3) | 0.43 | 60 (9.4) | 0.51 | |
1 | 562 (37.6) | 235 (42.0) | 137 (24.5) | 178 (32.0) | 55 (9.8) | ||||
≥2 | 287 (19.2) | 121 (42.3) | 62 (21.7) | 83 (29.0) | 21 (7.4) | ||||
Feeding during the first 3 months | |||||||||
Formula | 506 (34.5) | 210 (41.7) | 107 (21.3) | 0.67 | 171 (34.1) | 0.02 | 50 (10.0) | 0.23 | |
Mixed | 434 (29.6) | 201 (46.6) | 81 (18.8) | 150 (34.8) | 45 (10.4) | ||||
Breast | 528 (35.9) | 233 (44.4) | 104 (19.8) | 144 (27.5) | 39 (7.5) | ||||
Farm animal contact | |||||||||
Yes | 463 (31.0) | 201 (43.9) | 87 (19.0) | 0.77 | 155 (33.7) | 0.29 | 41 (8.9) | 0.88 | |
No | 1028 (69.0) | 448 (43.7) | 210 (20.5) | 315 (30.9) | 93 (9.1) | ||||
Collective day care attendance | |||||||||
Yes | 154 (11.0) | 72 (47.4) | 38 (25.0) | 0.05 | 59 (38.6) | 0.07 | 20 (13.2) | 0.07 | |
No | 1240 (89.0) | 536 (43.5) | 239 (19.4) | 385 (31.3) | 108 (8.7) | ||||
Mold and/or dampness at home | |||||||||
Yes | 46 (3.2) | 23 (51.1) | 7 (15.6) | 0.60 | 14 (30.4) | 0.80 | 11 (23.9) | <0.001 | |
No | 1396 (96.8) | 613 (44.1) | 280 (20.2) | 445 (32.1) | 122 (8.8) | ||||
No. of cigarettes/day smoked at home | |||||||||
0 | 880 (61.2) | 392 (44.9) | 161 (18.5) | 0.11 | 285 (32.7) | 0.53 | 82 (9.4) | 0.86 | |
1 to 20 | 467 (32.50) | 193 (41.4) | 102 (21.9) | 138 (29.8) | 43 (9.3) | ||||
> 20 | 90 (6.3) | 38 (42.2) | 26 (28.9) | 27 (30.0) | 10 (11.1) | ||||
Child’s age at follow-up (months) | |||||||||
22 ≤ age ≤ 24 | 390 (26.0) | 144 (37.0) | 65 (16.7) | <0.001 | 119 (30.7) | 0.03 | 37 (9.66) | 0.48 | |
24 < age ≤ 26 | 272 (18.1) | 138 (50.9) | 48 (17.7) | 68 (25.2) | 27 (10.0) | ||||
26 < age ≤ 28 | 445 (29.7) | 192 (43.4) | 101 (22.8) | 152 (34.5) | 44 (9.9) | ||||
>28 | 392 (26.1) | 182 (46.9) | 84 (21.6) | 135 (34.8) | 28 (7.2) | ||||