Prevalence and influencing factors of wheeze and asthma among preschool children in Urumqi city: a cross-sectional survey

To investigate the prevalence and indoor environmental influencing factors of wheeze and asthma among preschool children in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China to provide a strong basis for prevention and control. In August 2019, a cross-sectional study involving 8153 preschool children was conducted in 60 kindergartens in Urumqi. The ALLHOME-2 questionnaire was used for childhood wheeze and asthma survey, and the dampness in buildings and health (DBH) questionnaire was used for the childhood home dwelling and living environment survey. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression was then used to analyze the potential influencing factors of childhood asthma and wheeze. The prevalence of wheeze and asthma in children was 4.7% and 2.0%, respectively. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression results suggested that ethnicity other than the Han Chinese (odds ratio (OR) 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05–1.84), caesarean section (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.00–1.53), family history of asthma (OR 5.00, 95% CI 3.36–7.44), carpet or floor bedding at home (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.05–1.87), purchasing new furniture in the mother’s residence during pregnancy (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.06–2.36), pet keeping in the residence at aged 0–1 year (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.13–2.13), passive smoking by child in the current residence (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.01–1.80), and having mould or hygroma in the child's residence at aged 0–1 year (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.12–2.64) were risk factors for wheeze. In addition, Girls (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59–0.90) was a protective factor for wheeze. Caesarean section (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.06–2.00), family history of asthma (OR 7.06, 95% CI 4.33–11.53), carpet or floor bedding at home (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.50–3.23), and pet keeping in the residence at aged 0–1 year (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.04–1.83) were risk factors for asthma, whereas Girls (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.42–0.80) was a protective factor for asthma. This survey indicates that the purchase of new furniture, the placement of carpet or floor bedding in the child's residence, the pets keeping, room dampness or moldy phenomena, and passive smoking may all contribute to an elevated risk of wheeze or asthma in children.