Exposure to animals and the risk of allergic asthma: a population-based cross-sectional study in Finnish and Russian children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is little information on potential differences in animal exposure between Finland and Russia and particularly on the effects of animal exposure on asthma among Russian children. The aim of the study was to compare the pet and farm animal exposures and to assess the relations of pre- and postnatal animal exposures to the occurrence of allergic asthma in Finnish and Russian school children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in neighbour towns on either side of the Finnish-Russian border; Imatra in Finland and Svetogorsk in Russia. The study population consisted of 512 Finnish and 581 Russian school children aged 7–16 years (response rate 79%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) related to each exposure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Current indoor exposure to pets was more frequent among school children in Svetogorsk than in Imatra (67.5% vs. 56.0%, P < 0.001). Finnish children were exposed more frequently to dogs, whereas Russian children to cats during childhood and to farm animals during pregnancy and infancy. The risk of self-reported allergic asthma was inversely related to indoor dog keeping ever in Finland (adjusted OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.13, 0.95), whereas in Russia the risk of allergic asthma was increased in relation to combined indoor cat exposure during infancy and currently (4.56, 1.10, 18.91). The risk of asthma was elevated in relation to contact to farm animals during pregnancy (Finland: 1.95, 0.69, 5.50; Russia: 1.90, 0.70, 5.17) and early life (Finland: 2.05, 0.78, 5.40; Russia: 1.21, 0.39, 3.73).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Exposure to pets and farm animals during childhood differed significantly between Finland and Russia. Our study provides evidence that early-life exposure to cats increases the risk of asthma whereas exposure to dogs is protective. Our findings suggest that intermittent fetal and early-life exposure to farm animals increases the risk of allergic asthma in urban children visiting farms.</p

The effect of sampling height on grass pollen concentrations in different urban environments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland

Introduction It is important to study potential differences in pollen concentrations between sampling heights because of diverse outdoor and indoor activity of humans (exposure) at different height levels in urban environments. Previous studies have investigated the effect of height on pollen concentrations based on just one or a few sampling points. We studied the effect of sampling height on grass pollen concentrations in several urban environments with different levels of urbanity. Methods This study was conducted in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland, in 2013 during the pollen season of grasses. Pollen grains were monitored in eight different points in the morning and afternoon. Rotorod-type samplers were attached on sampling poles at the heights of 1.5 meters and 4 meters. Results Grass pollen concentrations were on average higher at the height of 1.5 meters (Helsinki mean 5.24 grains / m3; Espoo mean 75.71 grains / m3) compared to the height of 4 meters (Helsinki mean 3.84 grains / m3; Espoo mean 37.42 grains / m3) with a difference of 1.40 grains / m3 (95% CI -0.21 to 3.01) in Helsinki, and 38.29 grains / m3 (7.52 to 69.07) in Espoo, although not always statistically significant. This was detected both in the morning and in the afternoon. However, in the most urban sites the levels were lower at 1.5 meters compared to 4 meters, whereas in the least urban sites the concentrations were higher at 1.5 meters. In linear regression models with interaction terms, the modifying effect of urbanity on concentration-height relation was statistically significant in both cities. The effect of urbanity on pollen concentrations at both heights was stronger in less urban Espoo. Conclusions The present study provides evidence that height affects the abundance and distribution of grass pollen in urban environments, but this effect depends on the level of urbanity.Peer reviewe

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, animals and pollen grains as determinants of atopic diseases and respiratory infections

Abstract Little is known about a) the differences in allergic and respiratory diseases between the Finnish and Russian populations, and the environmental factors associated with those differences, and b) exposure to pollen grains indoors and the efficiency of penetration of pollen from outdoor to indoor air. This thesis is based on a cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study conducted in Imatra (Finland) and Svetogorsk (Russia) in 2003 and a rotorod-type-sampler-based pollen study conducted in the province of South Karelia (Finland) between 2003 and 2004. The prevalence of allergic diseases was higher among Finnish than Russian schoolchildren. The symptoms among allergic children were more severe, and the occurrence of respiratory infections was in general more frequent in Russia than in Finland. In the logistic regression analyses the risk of asthma was particularly related to high maternal smoking exposure, and the risk of the common cold was related to high combined parental smoking during infancy (adjusted OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.06–3.17) in Finnish children. Among Russian children, allergic conjunctivitis was related to maternal smoking, while the common cold was inversely related to paternal and parental smoking (0.60, 0.37–0.98 and 0.31, 0.11–0.83, respectively) during the study period. The risk of asthma was inversely related to any indoor dog-keeping in Finland (0.35, 0.13–0.95), whereas in Russia the risk of asthma was increased in relation to combined indoor cat exposure during infancy and the study period (4.56, 1.10–18.91). The concentrations of pollen grains decreased from abundant (0–855 pollen grains per cubic meter, pg/m3) to low (0–3 pg/m3), when moving from outdoors to indoors and further. The differences in diseases and symptoms in these two closely related populations could be ascribed to differences in culture, exposures, diagnostic criteria and treatment. The concentrations of pollen in indoor air during the flowering period were mostly on a level high enough to cause reactions in only the most sensitive subjects. The results suggest that more efforts should be directed to reducing parental smoking, to studying the role and effects of nationally different animal exposures in childhood, and to assessing the importance of different penetration routes of pollen grains.Tiivistelmä Suomen ja Venäjän välisistä allergioiden ja hengitystietulehdusten esiintymiseroista ja esiintymiseen vaikuttavista ympäristötekijöistä tiedetään varsin vähän. Myös tutkimuksia siitepölyille altistumisesta sisätiloissa ja siitepölyjen tunkeutumiskyvystä ulkoilmasta sisäilmaan on niukasti. Tutkimus yhdistää sekä lääketieteellisen että luonnontieteellisen tutkimusalan tutkimustraditiot sekä atooppisten sairauksien ja/tai hengitystietulehdusten tärkeimpien määrittäjien tarkastelun yhdeksi tutkimuskokonaisuudeksi. Väestö- ja kyselylomakepohjainen poikkileikkaustutkimus toteutettiin Suomen ja Venäjän rajan molemmin puolin sijaitsevissa Imatran ja Svetogorskin kaupungeissa vuonna 2003. Tutkimusväestö koostui 512 suomalaisesta ja 581 venäläisestä 7–16-vuotiaasta koululaisesta (osallistumisaste 79 %). Rotorod-tyyppisen keräimen käyttöön perustuva siitepölytutkimus toteutettiin erilaisissa ulko- ja sisätiloissa Lappeenrannan ja Imatran kaupungeissa, Rautjärven kunnassa ja valtatie 6:lla vuosina 2003 ja 2004. Atooppisten sairauksien esiintyvyys oli runsaampaa suomalaisten koululaisten keskuudessa. Sitä vastoin allergisten lasten kokemat oireet olivat voimakkaampia ja hengitystietulehdusten esiintyvyys oli runsaampaa venäläisten koululaisten keskuudessa. Astmariski kytkeytyi erityisesti äidin runsaalle tupakoinnille altistumiseen raskauden (vakioitu OR 3.51, 95 % luottamusväli 1.00–12.3), ensimmäisen elinvuoden (3.34, 1.23–9.07) ja tutkimuksen aikana (3.27, 1.26–8.48). Nuhakuumeen riski oli suurentunut suomalaisten koululaisten keskuudessa, jotka olivat altistuneet molempien vanhempien runsaalle tupakoinnille ensimmäisen elinvuoden aikana (1.83, 1.06–3.17). Äidin tupakoinnille ensimmäisen elinvuoden (4.53, 1.49–13.8) ja tutkimuksen aikana (2.82, 1.07–7.44) altistuneilla venäläisillä oli suurentunut allergisen silmän sidekalvotulehduksen riski. Tutkimuksen aikainen isän ja vanhempien tupakointi vähensi nuhakuumeen riskiä (0.60, 0.37–0.98; 0.31, 0.11–0.83) Venäjällä. Suomessa koiranpito sisätiloissa vähensi astmariskiä (0.35, 0.13–0.95), vastaavasti Venäjällä raskauden jälkeinen sisätiloissa tapahtuva kissa-altistus lisäsi koululaisten astmariskiä (4.56, 1.10–18.91). Siitepölyjen pitoisuudet pienenivät siirryttäessä ulkoa (0–855 siitepölyhiukkasta ilmakuutiossa; sp/m3) sisätiloihin (0–17 sp/m3). Ympäristöaltisteisiin ja sairauden ennusteeseen vaikuttavat sekä kansallinen kulttuuri ja vakiintuneet tavat, että erot diagnosointikriteereissä, yleisessä tautitietoisuudessa ja lääkkeiden saatavuudessa. Näin ollen altisteiden voimakkuus ja kesto sekä terveysvaikutukset voivat vaihdella merkittävästi lähellä toisiaan sijaitsevien alueiden välillä. Siitepölypitoisuudet sisätiloissa olivat pääosin tasolla, jolle altistuminen aiheuttaa oireita vain kaikkein herkimmille allergisille. Tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan lisää voimavaroja tulisi suunnata passiiviselle tupakoinnille altistumisen vähentämiseen erityisesti yksilökehityksellisesti herkkien varhaisvaiheiden aikana, kansallisten eläinaltistuserojen terveysvaikutusten selvittämiseen sekä siitepölyjen erilaisten kulkeutumisreittien merkityksen tutkimiseen

Awareness of climate change and the dietary choices of young adults in Finland: a population-based cross-sectional study.

Climate change is a major public health threat that is exacerbated by food production. Food items differ substantially in the amount of greenhouse gases their production generates and therefore individuals, if willing, can mitigate climate change through dietary choices. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study to assess if the understanding of climate change, concern over climate change or socio-economic characteristics are reflected in the frequencies of climate-friendly food choices. The study population comprised 1623 young adults in Finland who returned a self-administered questionnaire (response rate 64.0%). We constructed a Climate-Friendly Diet Score (CFDS) ranging theoretically from -14 to 14 based on the consumption of 14 food items. A higher CFDS indicated a climate-friendlier diet. Multivariate linear regression analyses on the determinants of CFDS revealed that medium concern raised CFDS on average by 0.51 points (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03, 0.98) and high concern by 1.30 points (95% CI 0.80, 1.80) compared to low concern. Understanding had no effect on CFDS on its own. Female gender raised CFDS by 1.92 (95% CI 1.59, 2.25). Unemployment decreased CFDS by 0.92 (95% CI -1.68, -0.15). Separate analyses of genders revealed that high concern over climate change brought about a greater increase in CFDS in females than in males. Good understanding of climate change was weakly connected to climate-friendly diet among females only. Our results indicate that increasing awareness of climate change could lead to increased consumption of climate-friendly food, reduction in GHG emissions, and thus climate change mitigation

Dental caries is associated with lower respiratory tract infections:a population-based cohort study

Abstract Introduction: Dental caries and respiratory tract infections are among the most common infectious diseases worldwide and they both are appearing in the respiratory system. However, their relations are still unclear. This study investigated the association of dental caries on the risk of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in young adulthood. Methods: The study population consisted of 1,592 Finnish young adults participating in the 20-year follow-up of The Espoo Cohort Study. The information on the occurrence of LRTIs (pneumonia or acute bronchitis) during the preceding 12 months was based on the follow-up questionnaire and the National Hospital Discharge Register. Lifelong caries on permanent teeth was defined as a self-reported number of filled teeth (FT). The risk ratios (RR) of LRTIs with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Poisson regression models. Results: High FT number was associated with an increased occurrence of LRTIs with an adjusted RR of 1.24 per interquartile range (IQR) of FT (95% CI 1.06–1.44). The risk of LRTIs increased according to the increasing number of FTs, being highest among those subjects with 10 or more filled teeth (adjusted RR 2.30; 1.27–4.17). Family’s socioeconomic status or smoking did not modify the effect. Conclusions: Our results suggest that dental caries increases the risk of LRTIs. We did not find any significant effect modification by shared determinants of caries and LRTIs. However, it is possible, that common risk factors might explain at least partly the observed relation between FT and LRTIs or that the causality is bidirectional

Early Respiratory Infections and Dental Caries in the First 27 Years of Life: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Early-life respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and dental caries are among the most common infectious diseases worldwide. The relations between early RTIs and development of caries in permanent teeth have not been studied earlier. We assessed childhood RTIs as potential predictors of caries in young adulthood in a 20-year prospective population-based cohort study (The Espoo Cohort Study). Information on lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) that had required hospitalization was retrieved from the National Hospital Discharge Registry (n = 1623). Additional information on LRTIs and upper RTIs (URTIs) was assessed based on the questionnaire reports that covered the preceding 12 months. Caries was measured as the number of teeth with fillings (i.e. filled teeth, FT) reported in the 20-year follow-up questionnaire. The absolute and relative excess numbers of FT were estimated applying negative binomial regression. The mean number of FT in young adulthood was 1.4 greater among subjects who had experienced LRTIs requiring hospitalization before the age of 2 years (SD 4.8) compared to those without any such infections (SD 3.4), and the adjusted relative excess number of FT was 1.5 (95% CI 1.0-2.2). LRTIs up to 7 years were associated with an absolute increase of 0.9 in the mean FT number, the adjusted relative excess being 1.3 (1.0-1.8). Also the questionnaire-based LRTIs (adjusted relative excess 1.3; 95% CI 0.9-1.8) and URTIs (adjusted relative excess 1.4, 1.0-1.8) before the age of 2 years predicted higher occurrence of FT. Findings suggest that early RTIs have a role in the development of dental caries in permanent teeth

Voluntary Climate Change Mitigation Actions of Young Adults: A Classification of Mitigators through Latent Class Analysis

<div><p>Encouraging individuals to take action is important for the overall success of climate change mitigation. Campaigns promoting climate change mitigation could address particular groups of the population on the basis of what kind of mitigation actions the group is already taking. To increase the knowledge of such groups performing similar mitigation actions we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in Finland. The study population comprised 1623 young adults who returned a self-administered questionnaire (response rate 64%). Our aims were to identify groups of people engaged in similar climate change mitigation actions and to study the gender differences in the grouping. We also determined if socio-demographic characteristics can predict group membership. We performed latent class analysis using 14 mitigation actions as manifest variables. Three classes were identified among men: the Inactive (26%), the Semi-active (63%) and the Active (11%) and two classes among women: the Semi-active (72%) and the Active (28%). The Active among both genders were likely to have mitigated climate change through several actions, such as recycling, using environmentally friendly products, preferring public transport, and conserving energy. The Semi-Active had most probably recycled and preferred public transport because of climate change. The Inactive, a class identified among men only, had very probably done nothing to mitigate climate change. Among males, being single or divorced predicted little involvement in climate change mitigation. Among females, those without tertiary degree and those with annual income €≥16801 were less involved in climate change mitigation. Our results illustrate to what extent young adults are engaged in climate change mitigation, which factors predict little involvement in mitigation and give insight to which segments of the public could be the audiences of targeted mitigation campaigns.</p></div

Socio-economic determinants of low climate change activity.

<p>The covariate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained from the Latent Class Analysis and the P-values from the likelihood ratio (LR) Χ² test. Note: Reference class: the Active of the corresponding sex; ^a Likelihood ratio test.</p

The socio-economic characteristics of the study population.

<p>The socio-economic characteristics of the study population.</p