Biomedical subjects

Gruppo Collaborativo SIDRIA-2

Publications and source records attributed to Gruppo Collaborativo SIDRIA-2.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

[SIDRIA second phase: objectives, study design and methods].

The SIDRIA project (Italian Studies on Respiratory Disorders in Children and the Environment) is aimed at evaluating the prevalence of respiratory and allergic disorders, and their geographic and temporal variations, in the context of the ISAAC study (International study of asthma and allergies in Childhood). The SIDRIA study was specifically designed to evaluate the prevalence of a variety of environmental, social, behavioural and familiar risk factors, and to examine the association between these socio-environmental factors and asthma as well as other respiratory disorders in children. The first phase of SIDRIA was conducted in 1994-1995 in 10 areas of Northern and Central Italy. The 2nd phase took place in 2002, in 13 Italian areas, and included 20,016 children (6-7 years old) and 16,175 adolescents (13-14 years old), with a response rate of 89% and 93%, respectively.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Environmental, social and demographic characteristics of children and adolescents, resident in different Italian areas].

The second phase of the SIDRIA study provides important information regarding the family characteristics of Italian children (6-7 years old) and adolescents (13-14 years old), and the frequency of risk factors for asthma and allergies, allowing comparisons between study areas according to differences in latitude (North, Centre, South) and urbanization level (metropolitan areas, with at least 500,000 inhabitants, and other areas). Parental education level was higher in metropolitan and central areas. The frequency of children and adolescents born abroad, and the percentage of mothers and fathers employed were higher outside metropolitan areas and there was an increase from the South to the North of Italy. This trend was paralleled by an increase in maternal age at child's birth and in the frequency of low birth weight and day care attendance. The frequency of breastfeeding was greater in children than in adolescents; the opposite was registered for passive smoking, with a frequency of exposure higher in adolescents than in children, especially in the Northern and Central areas, even if the proportion of subjects having at least one parent who smokes was still high in both age groups. The prevalence of overweight children was striking, especially in the South where physical activity was less frequent and children had the unhealthy habit of consuming a lot of snacks and carbonated beverages. Frequency of exposure to traffic in the area of residence was particularly high, especially in the metropolitan areas.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Frequency of asthma and allergies in Italian children and adolescents: results from SIDRIA-2].

The present study investigated the prevalences of asthma, allergic rhinitis (both to pollen and to other causes) and eczema in Italian children (6-7 yr old) and adolescents (13-14 yr old) in the second phase of SIDRIA (2002), aiming also to highlight geographical differences in the prevalence of the studied diseases. Prevalence of lifetime asthma is 9.3% in children and 10.3% in adolescents; lifetime prevalences of allergic rhinitis and eczema are 12.3% and 15.9% in children, 20.9% and 11.9% in adolescents. In both age groups, prevalence of lifetime asthma and lifetime and past 12 months wheezing was greater in central than in northern and southern areas. A similar situation was also seen for allergic rhinitis but not for eczema whose prevalence decreased between North to South of Italy. An excess in prevalence of lifetime asthma and rhinitis was found in metropolitan areas compared to other areas; prevalence of eczema did not show any difference by urbanization level. Prevalence of asthma and, only in children, prevalence of rhinitis symptoms was greater in males than in females. On the contrary, prevalence of eczema and, only in adolescents, prevalence of rhinitis symptoms was greater in females. Prevalence of childhood asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema in Italy ranks intermediate with respect to other countries participating in ISAAC phase three.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Respiratory and allergic disorders in children: differences in socio-economic status].

The association between socio-economic status (SES) and respiratory and allergic disorders is controversial, and conflicting results are reported in literature. We examined this association using as indicators of SES parental education and occupation. Persistent cough resulted inversely associated with SES, while current wheezing and atopic dermatitis were directly associated with SES. The role of SES on frequency of respiratory and allergic conditions in Italy needs to be further investigated, although our results confirm a higher frequency of allergic dermatitis and a lower frequency of persistent cough in more advantaged families.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Prevalence of asthma and allergies among migrant children and adolescents in Italy].

Prevalence of asthma and allergies in children shows large variations among different populations, but there is limited evidence about these conditions in immigrants from developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of asthma symptoms and allergies in immigrant children and adolescents living in Italy and to investigate the possible role of genetic and environmental factors in the development of such diseases. There were 1340 (4.0%) immigrants in Italy, mainly from East Europe (31.7%); 532 were born in Italy to foreign parents and 808 were born abroad. Asthma and other atopic diseases were on the whole significantly less common among immigrant children than among Italians, while some infectious diseases in the first two years of life resulted more present in immigrant children than in Italians.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Dietary habits, life styles and respiratory symptoms in childhood].

Asthma and obesity in children are common chronic conditions and both disorders have been increasing in the last 2 to 3 decades. The changes of dietary habits and a sedentary life style could have played a role in increasing the prevalence of both conditions. The aim of this report is to analyse the relation between some respiratory conditions (current wheezing, asthma and chronic cough) with dietary habits, body mass index (BMI), the physical activity and the habit to watch television. A total of 19,995 children (10,294 males and 9701 females) were investigated. Current wheezing is associated with increased BMI (V quintile OR=1.65), TV watching (more than 5 h/day OR=1.53), adding salt to the foods (OR=2.45), and fizzy drink (5 times or more per week OR=1.31). Children who often eat tomatoes, fruits, cooked vegetables and citrus fruits have a lower risk of current wheeze. The pattern of association is similar for asthma. High BMI, TV watching, adding salt to foods, and fizzy drink are risk factors for chronic cough. An increased BMI and TV watching are strongly related to respiratory symptoms. Our data confirm that dietary factors such as salt, vegetables and fruits are associated with the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in children.

Asthma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Risk factors in the pre-, perinatal and early life (first year) for wheezing in young children].

In recent years some studies have focused attention on the contribution of early life risk factors in the pathogenesis of asthma and wheezing. In our study we tested the hypothesis that wheezing in childhood is not a single disorder and that different wheezing phenotypes (called transient early wheezing, persistent wheezing and late-onset wheezing) are associated with different risk factors. We evaluated the association between pre, perinatal and early life (1st year) risk factors and different wheezing phenotypes in children 6-7 years old enrolled in the SIDRIA-2 project. Maternal smoking in pregnancy is associated with early and persistent wheezing; prematurity, child's admission to hospital shortly after birth for respiratory problems, indicators of respiratory infections during the child's first year of life are associated with early wheezing. An increase in childhood infections from contact with siblings or day care attendance is a risk factor for early wheezing but protective against late-onset wheezing, while an opposite pattern was observed for breastfeeding. Finally, mould or dampness in the child's bedroom during his first year of life is associated with all wheezing phenotypes. The risk factors studied are differently associated with different wheezing phenotypes.

Asthma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Parental smoking and respiratory disorders in childhood].

The present study shows associations between parental smoking and respiratory diseases in Italian children and adolescents participating in SIDRIA-2. We studied associations (odds ratios, ORs, and 95% confidence intervals, 95% CI) between exposure to mothers smoking fathers smoking, both parents' smoking, and three categories of cases: current asthma, current asthmatic symptoms, chronic bronchitis. At least one parent smoker was associated with a greater risk for asthmatic diseases compared to subjects not exposed. Our findings are in agreement with other published studies' results on the adverse effect of passive smoking on childhood respiratory health. The proportion of families with at least one parent smoker is very high (about 50%), confirming that measures aimed to reduce passive smoking in the community, and particularly in all places where children are present, are urgently needed in Italy.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Effects of indoor exposures on respiratory and allergic disorders].

Several studies have shown that indoor pollution increases the risk for chronic pulmonary diseases and acute respiratory symptoms in children/adolescents. Some associations have been confirmed by studies. Other relations are still unclear, such as those regarding dog and cat ownership. In this study we assessed the relationships of the exposure to mould and dog/cat ownership with respiratory/allergic symptoms/diagnoses, such as wheezing, asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, eczema, and cough/phlegm in 20,016 children (6-7 yrs old) and 13,266 adolescents (13-14 yrs old) from 12 Italian areas. Early mould exposure (in the first year of life) was positively related to all considered symptoms/diagnoses (significantly for wheezing, asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis in both children and adolescents, and for cough/phlegm among children); current exposure (in the last year) was a significant risk factor for wheeze, among children. In the latter, dog exposure only in the first year of life increased the risk for wheezing and cough/phlegm, whereas the presence of a dog lifetime seemed a protective factor (though not significant) for all symptoms/diagnoses; negative relations (but not significant) suggested a protective effect by the cat for asthma, independently of exposure period. Among adolescents, the presence of a dog both lifetime and only in the first year of life was significantly related to cough/phlegm; except for rhino-conjunctivitis, all symptoms/diagnoses were negatively related to the presence of a cat lifetime (though not significantly). In conclusion, our results confirmed the effects of mould exposure, especially when it occurs early, on the prevalence of respiratory disorders such as asthma, rhinitis and cough in the pediatric age. The complex relations between keeping a dog or cat at home and respiratory/allergic symptoms/diseases in childhood warrants further studies.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Outdoor risk factors and adverse effects on respiratory health in childhood].

Several epidemiological studies have provided evidence that exposure to auto vehicular traffic increases the prevalence of bronchitis, cough and deficits in lung function and may exacerbate pre-existing asthma, especially in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of road traffic pollution on respiratory health in a large sample of Italian school children. Eighteen percent of the SIDRIA-2 sample reported high traffic density in the zone of residence; 60% and 20% of subjects reported a very frequent transit of cars and lorries, respectively on the street of residence. High frequency of lorry traffic in the street of residence was associated with significantly increased risks for chronic cough or phlegm and sinusitis symptoms. These results, confirming previous findings (SIDRIA, 1994-95), show that children living near streets with intense traffic of heavy vehicles are at higher risk for adverse respiratory effects, especially for productive cough.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The proportion of respiratory disorders in childhood attributable to preventable and not preventable risk factors].

On the basis of the results of the SIDRIA-2 study, we estimated the population attributable risk (PAR%) of chronic respiratory disorders in childhood for the exposure to some preventable risk factors (passive smoking-ETS, molds/dampness on the walls of the bedroom, high traffic in the street of residence) and for not preventable risk factors such as parental history of respiratory disorders or allergies. About 27% of respiratory disorders could be attributed to this latter factor, while 15.5% and 18% (among children and adolescents respectively) are potentially avoidable if exposure to ETS, molds in the home and high traffic in the street of residence are avoided.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Access to health care for asthma in Italian children and adolescents].

Bronchial asthma represents the most frequent chronic illness in the paediatric age. Although a number of guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the disease exist, some studies have shown that their application on a large scale is still lacking, in this way leading to the inadequate treatment of symptoms and the frequent use of emergency visits and hospitalization. Within the scope of the SIDRIA-2 project, this article describes the main aspects of diagnosis, management and treatment of asthma in children (6/7 years old) and adolescents (13/14 years old). The information was obtained from the SIDRIA questionnaire completed by the parents. The analysis of data demonstrated some relevant differences between the actual management of asthma in the paediatric age in Italy and the suggestions available from the guidelines and the literature. Moreover, some choices in the management of asthma were associated to the socio-economic level of families of children and adolescents, such as a lower use of spirometry and a higher frequency of hospitalization in disadvantaged subjects.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Asthma attacks at school in Italian adolescents].

We evaluated the occurrence of asthma attacks at school in a sample of 13,266 adolescents (13-14 year old) from 12 centers across Italy (SIDRIA-2 study). 23.8% of asthmatic subjects reported at least one wheezing attack at school in the previous 12 months. The attacks occurred in the gymnasium (55.4%), in the classroom (42.6%), outside (28.7%), in the bathroom (4.5%) and in other school environments (4%). During the attacks, self-administration of a bronchodilator was reported by 66% of the subjects. Educational programs and specific guidelines to deal with asthmatic schoolchildren are warranted.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Changes in social characteristics and risk factors for asthma and allergies among children and adolescents in Italy].

One of the main objectives of SIDRIA-2 study was to evaluate the possible changes in the occurrence of social characteristics and risk factors for asthma and allergies in childhood, comparing the data obtained in 2002 to those collected in 1994-1995. A positive change in socio-economic characteristics of the childrens' and adolescents' families was generally observed. The levels of exposure to outdoor (traffic) and indoor (passive smoking) pollutants are still high, although a decreasing trend in parents' smoking habits is evident.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Trends in the frequency of asthma and allergies].

The increase in the prevalence of asthma and allergies observed during the last decades has been largely investigated, but the reasons for such trend are still unclear. The distribution of factors traditionally considered responsible of the allergic disorders (such as pollen or moulds), do not explain the geographical differences observed internationally in the prevalence of asthma and allergies. The conduction of new studies aimed at monitoring the trend in asthma and allergies, and in the risk factors associated with these disorders, such as the SIDRIA study (Italian Studies on Respiratory Disorders in Children and the Environment), will shed new light on this phenomenon.

Adolescent↗