Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Sep;120(3):785-90.
doi: 10.1378/chest.120.3.785.

Risk factors for childhood asthma in Costa Rica

J C Celedón  1 , M E Soto-Quiros, E K Silverman, L Hanson, S T Weiss
Affiliations

Risk factors for childhood asthma in Costa Rica

J C Celedón et al. Chest. 2001 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Little is known about factors determining the pathogenesis and severity of asthma in Latin American countries. Costa Rica, one of the most prosperous Latin American nations, has a very high asthma prevalence.

Objective: To examine the relation between potential risk factors and childhood asthma in Costa Rica.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 214 schoolchildren aged 10 to 13 years participating in phase II of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood.

Results: After adjustment for age, gender, area of residence, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and airway responsiveness to hypertonic saline solution, sensitization to house dust mites was associated with asthma (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 4.4; p = 0.02). In the multivariate analysis, parental education no higher than high school (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.4 to 6.4; p < 0.01) and parental history of asthma (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.3 to 5.2; p < 0.01) were also independent predictors of childhood asthma.

Conclusions: Sensitization to house dust mites, low parental education, and parental history of asthma are associated with asthma in Costa Rica.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types