Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and Symptoms
Background: Most epidemiological studies indicate that bronchial asthma is not a risk factor for COVID-19, but previous analyses have not additionally focused on the socioeconomic determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms. Aims: This research...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/1/88 |
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| author | Agata Wypych-Ślusarska Karolina Krupa-Kotara Klaudia Oleksiuk Joanna Głogowska-Ligus Jerzy Słowiński Ewa Niewiadomska |
| author_facet | Agata Wypych-Ślusarska Karolina Krupa-Kotara Klaudia Oleksiuk Joanna Głogowska-Ligus Jerzy Słowiński Ewa Niewiadomska |
| author_sort | Agata Wypych-Ślusarska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Most epidemiological studies indicate that bronchial asthma is not a risk factor for COVID-19, but previous analyses have not additionally focused on the socioeconomic determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms. Aims: This research aimed to investigate the correlation between the socioeconomic status of families and the prevalence of respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms in children, in addition to exploring their association with the prevalence of COVID-19. The study involved a cross-sectional epidemiological investigation conducted in 2022, encompassing 2454 students from elementary schools in Poland. The parents of the students completed a questionnaire modeled after the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Socioeconomic status (SES) indicators were determined based on parental education, self-reported economic status, and housing conditions. To assess the impact of social factors and health on the occurrence of COVID-19, odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. The findings revealed several COVID-19 risk factors, including higher maternal (OR 2.2; 95%CI: 1.3–3.0) and paternal education (OR 1.9; 95%CI: 1.3–2.4), urban residence (OR 1.7; 95%CI: 1.3–2.1), the presence of mold in residences (OR 1.7; 95%CI: 1.0–2.3), bronchitis (OR 1.5; 95%CI: 1.2–2.0), and chronic cough (OR 1.8; 95%CI: 1.3–2.4). Further analysis, stratifying children based on their baseline health status (i.e., presence or absence of asthma, bronchitis, and chronic cough), indicated that higher parental education increased the risk of COVID-19 solely for children without pre-existing conditions. The occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infections was found to be notably associated with mold exposure in children who did not have bronchial asthma. Rigorous multivariate analyses substantiated the collective impact of factors such as residential environment, the existence of mold and moisture, and a history of bronchitis. This study’s conclusions highlight a higher frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infections in cases where bronchitis had been diagnosed previously and chronic cough was prevalent. Interestingly, the initially hypothesized higher prevalence of COVID-19 among children with bronchial asthma did not receive confirmation in our findings. This study highlights the importance of urban residence, exposure to mold or dampness, and higher parental education in the incidence of COVID-19. Higher parental education was a significant factor in increasing the risk of COVID-19 among children without bronchitis, chronic cough, and asthma. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:01:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-44896a4d51c34d9493113c07e4c4216c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:01:01Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-44896a4d51c34d9493113c07e4c4216c2024-01-26T15:48:41ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672024-01-011118810.3390/children11010088Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and SymptomsAgata Wypych-Ślusarska0Karolina Krupa-Kotara1Klaudia Oleksiuk2Joanna Głogowska-Ligus3Jerzy Słowiński4Ewa Niewiadomska5Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Katowice, PolandDepartment of Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Katowice, PolandDepartment of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Katowice, PolandDepartment of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Katowice, PolandDepartment of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Katowice, PolandDepartment of Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Katowice, PolandBackground: Most epidemiological studies indicate that bronchial asthma is not a risk factor for COVID-19, but previous analyses have not additionally focused on the socioeconomic determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms. Aims: This research aimed to investigate the correlation between the socioeconomic status of families and the prevalence of respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms in children, in addition to exploring their association with the prevalence of COVID-19. The study involved a cross-sectional epidemiological investigation conducted in 2022, encompassing 2454 students from elementary schools in Poland. The parents of the students completed a questionnaire modeled after the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Socioeconomic status (SES) indicators were determined based on parental education, self-reported economic status, and housing conditions. To assess the impact of social factors and health on the occurrence of COVID-19, odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. The findings revealed several COVID-19 risk factors, including higher maternal (OR 2.2; 95%CI: 1.3–3.0) and paternal education (OR 1.9; 95%CI: 1.3–2.4), urban residence (OR 1.7; 95%CI: 1.3–2.1), the presence of mold in residences (OR 1.7; 95%CI: 1.0–2.3), bronchitis (OR 1.5; 95%CI: 1.2–2.0), and chronic cough (OR 1.8; 95%CI: 1.3–2.4). Further analysis, stratifying children based on their baseline health status (i.e., presence or absence of asthma, bronchitis, and chronic cough), indicated that higher parental education increased the risk of COVID-19 solely for children without pre-existing conditions. The occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infections was found to be notably associated with mold exposure in children who did not have bronchial asthma. Rigorous multivariate analyses substantiated the collective impact of factors such as residential environment, the existence of mold and moisture, and a history of bronchitis. This study’s conclusions highlight a higher frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infections in cases where bronchitis had been diagnosed previously and chronic cough was prevalent. Interestingly, the initially hypothesized higher prevalence of COVID-19 among children with bronchial asthma did not receive confirmation in our findings. This study highlights the importance of urban residence, exposure to mold or dampness, and higher parental education in the incidence of COVID-19. Higher parental education was a significant factor in increasing the risk of COVID-19 among children without bronchitis, chronic cough, and asthma.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/1/88asthmabronchitischronic coughCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2SES |
| spellingShingle | Agata Wypych-Ślusarska Karolina Krupa-Kotara Klaudia Oleksiuk Joanna Głogowska-Ligus Jerzy Słowiński Ewa Niewiadomska Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and Symptoms Children asthma bronchitis chronic cough COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 SES |
| title | Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and Symptoms |
| title_full | Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and Symptoms |
| title_fullStr | Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and Symptoms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and Symptoms |
| title_short | Socioeconomic and Health Determinants of the Prevalence of COVID-19 in a Population of Children with Respiratory Diseases and Symptoms |
| title_sort | socioeconomic and health determinants of the prevalence of covid 19 in a population of children with respiratory diseases and symptoms |
| topic | asthma bronchitis chronic cough COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 SES |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/1/88 |
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