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Table 1 Sample characteristics (N = 2340)

From: Association between environmental factors and current asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema symptoms in school-aged children from Oropeza Province – Bolivia: a cross-sectional study

Variables

 

Total

Urban

Rural

P value*

 

% (n)

% (n)

% (n)

 

Sex

Female

52.1 (1217)

53.2 (917)

48.9 (300)

0.14

Age

9 years

2.8 (64)

3.2 (55)

1.5 (9)

< 0.05

 

10 years

40.1 (933)

44.8 (767)

27.1 (166)

 

11 years

41.9 (975)

39.3 (672)

49.4 (303)

 

12 years

11.2 (260)

9.6 (165)

15.5 (95)

 

13 years

3.2 (74)

2.2 (38)

5.9 (36)

 

14 years

0.6 (14)

0.6 (11)

0.5 (3)

 

15 years

0.2 (5)

0.2 (4)

0.2 (1)

Environmental factors

     

Current exposure to dog

 

86.2 (2003)

86.4 (1478)

85.8 (525)

0.75

Current exposure to cat

 

59.2 (1375)

58.1 (994)

62.4 (381)

0.09

Current exposure to farm animals

 

36.1 (837)

31.6 (539)

48.9 (298)

< 0.05

Intense truck traffic 1

 

28.6 (655)

29.4 (494)

26.5 (161)

0.32

Environmental tobacco smoke exposure

 

37.1 (868)

31.7 (547)

52.4 (321)

< 0.05

Cooking fuel

Wood or coal

18.5 (431)

9.7 (167)

43.1 (264)

< 0.05

Disease vectors presence at home 2 (Median 2; Range 0 to 6)

None

8.4 (197)

9.0 (155)

6.9 (42)

< 0.05

 

1 Vector

39.3 (920)

41.8 (722)

32.3 (198)

 

2 Vectors

23.9 (559)

24.6 (424)

22.0 (135)

 

3 Vectors

16.5 (385)

16.3 (282)

16.8 (103)

 

≥ 4 Vectors

12.0 (279)

8.3 (144)

22.0 (135)

Precarious household conditions 3

None

70.6 (1615)

77.8 (1310)

50.5 (305)

< 0.05

 

1

21.2 (484)

17.0 (286)

32.8 (198)

 

≥ 2

8.2 (188)

5.2 (87)

16.7 (101)

Number of item ownership 4 (Median 4; Range 0 to 7)

None

0.6 (13)

0.6 (11)

0.3 (2)

< 0.05

 

1 item

6.4 (149)

4.7 (82)

10.9 (67)

 

2 items

7.4 (173)

5.5 (95)

12.7 (78)

 

3 items

16.4 (383)

15.3 (264)

19.4 (119)

 

4 items

22.3 (522)

22.1 (382)

22.8 (140)

 

5 items

22.3 (521)

23.6 (408)

18.4 (113)

 

≥ 6 items

24.8 (579)

28.1 (485)

15.3 (94)

Symptoms

     

Current asthma symptoms WQ 5

 

17.8 (414)

16.4 (281)

21.7 (133)

0.11

Current asthma symptoms VQ 6

 

6.4 (148)

7.3 (124)

3.9 (24)

0.23

Current rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms 7

 

22.2 (516)

21.5 (369)

24.0 (147)

0.54

Current eczema symptoms 8

 

9.2 (213)

9.5 (161)

8.5 (52)

0.59

  1. *Chi square Test.
  2. 1Intense truck traffic: Almost the whole day.
  3. 2Disease vectors: fleas, ticks, kissing bugs, mice, bedbugs, flies.
  4. 3Precarious floor: soil; Precarious walls: cane, palm or trunk; Precarious source of water for cooking: river, lake, pump or water tank car; Precarious sewage system: to the surface or to a septic tank.
  5. 4Item ownership: Radio, TV, bicycle, motorbike, car, refrigerator, telephone.
  6. 5Positive answer to the question: “Have you had wheezing or whistling in the chest during the last 12 months?”in the written questionnaire.
  7. 6Positive answer to the first scene of the video questionnaire: Moderate wheezing at rest.
  8. 7Presence of sneezing or a runny or blocked nose, accompanied by itchy watery eyes without a cold or the flu.
  9. 8Presence of an itchy rash at any time in the past 12 months affecting the following places: the folds of the elbows; behind the knees; in front of the ankles; under the buttocks; or around the neck, ears, or eyes).
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Environmental Health

ISSN: 1476-069X