Symptom Burden and Factors Associated with Acute Respiratory Infections in the First Two Years of Life-Results from the LoewenKIDS Cohort

Susan Langer¹, Johannes Horn¹, Cornelia Gottschick¹, Bianca Klee¹, Oliver Purschke¹, Mahrrouz Caputo², Evelyn Dorendorf², Kristin Maria Meyer-Schlinkmann², Heike Raupach-Rosin², André Karch³, Nicole Rübsamen³, Mustafa Aydogdu⁴, Matthias Buhles⁵, Frank Dressler⁶, Wolfgang Eberl⁷, Franz Edler von Koch⁸, Torsten Frambach⁹, Heiko Franz¹⁰, Florian Guthmann¹¹, Carlos A Guzman¹², Roland Haase¹³, Gesine Hansen⁶, Valerie Heselich¹⁴, Johannes Hübner¹⁴, Hans Georg Koch⁷, Carsten Oberhoff¹⁵, Peggy Riese¹², Ralf Schild¹⁶, Sven Seeger¹⁷, Michael Tchirikov¹⁸, Stephanie Trittel¹², Constantin von Kaisenberg¹⁹, Rafael Mikolajczyk^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Institute for Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics and Informatics, Medical School of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06112 Halle (Saale), Germany.
² Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Epidemiology Research Group Epidemiological and Statistical Methods, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
³ Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
⁴ Department of Gynecology, Gyneoncology and Senology, Klinikum Bremen-Mitte, 28205 Bremen, Germany.
⁵ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Community Hospital Wolfenbuettel, 38302 Wolfenbuettel, Germany.
⁶ Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Neonatology, Hanover Medical School, 30625 Hanover, Germany.
⁷ Department of Paediatrics, Hospital Braunschweig, 38118 Braunschweig, Germany.
⁸ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Dritter Orden, Munich-Nymphenburg, 80336 Munich, Germany.
⁹ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital St. Joseph Stift Bremen, 80336 Bremen, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Braunschweig, 38118 Braunschweig, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Neonatology, Children and Youth Hospital AUF DER BULT, 30173 Hanover, Germany.
¹² Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Department Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
¹³ Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Hospital St. Elisabeth und St. Barbara, 06110 Halle (Saale), Germany.
¹⁴ Department of Paediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Klinikum Links der Weser, 28277 Bremen, Germany.
¹⁶ Department of Obstetrics and Perinatal Medicine, DIAKOVERE Henriettenstift Hanover, 30559 Hanover, Germany.
¹⁷ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital St. Elisabeth und St. Barbara, 06110 Halle (Saale), Germany.
¹⁸ University Clinic and Outpatient Clinic for Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
¹⁹ Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Hanover Medical School, 30625 Hanover, Germany.

PMID: 35056559
PMCID: PMC8781593
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10010111

Symptom Burden and Factors Associated with Acute Respiratory Infections in the First Two Years of Life-Results from the LoewenKIDS Cohort

Susan Langer et al. Microorganisms. 2022.

. 2022 Jan 5;10(1):111.

doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10010111.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Institute for Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics and Informatics, Medical School of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06112 Halle (Saale), Germany.
² Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Epidemiology Research Group Epidemiological and Statistical Methods, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
³ Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
⁴ Department of Gynecology, Gyneoncology and Senology, Klinikum Bremen-Mitte, 28205 Bremen, Germany.
⁵ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Community Hospital Wolfenbuettel, 38302 Wolfenbuettel, Germany.
⁶ Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Neonatology, Hanover Medical School, 30625 Hanover, Germany.
⁷ Department of Paediatrics, Hospital Braunschweig, 38118 Braunschweig, Germany.
⁸ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Dritter Orden, Munich-Nymphenburg, 80336 Munich, Germany.
⁹ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital St. Joseph Stift Bremen, 80336 Bremen, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Braunschweig, 38118 Braunschweig, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Neonatology, Children and Youth Hospital AUF DER BULT, 30173 Hanover, Germany.
¹² Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Department Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
¹³ Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Hospital St. Elisabeth und St. Barbara, 06110 Halle (Saale), Germany.
¹⁴ Department of Paediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Klinikum Links der Weser, 28277 Bremen, Germany.
¹⁶ Department of Obstetrics and Perinatal Medicine, DIAKOVERE Henriettenstift Hanover, 30559 Hanover, Germany.
¹⁷ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital St. Elisabeth und St. Barbara, 06110 Halle (Saale), Germany.
¹⁸ University Clinic and Outpatient Clinic for Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
¹⁹ Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Hanover Medical School, 30625 Hanover, Germany.

PMID: 35056559
PMCID: PMC8781593
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10010111

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are the most common childhood illnesses worldwide whereby the reported frequency varies widely, often depending on type of assessment. Symptom diaries are a powerful tool to counteract possible under-reporting, particularly of milder infections, and thus offer the possibility to assess the full burden of ARIs. The following analyses are based on symptom diaries from participants of the German birth cohort study LoewenKIDS. Primary analyses included frequencies of ARIs and specific symptoms. Factors, which might be associated with an increased number of ARIs, were identified using the Poisson regression. A subsample of two hundred eighty-eight participants were included. On average, 13.7 ARIs (SD: 5.2 median: 14.0 IQR: 10-17) were reported in the first two years of life with an average duration of 11 days per episode (SD: 5.8, median: 9.7, IQR: 7-14). The median age for the first ARI episode was 91 days (IQR: 57-128, mean: 107, SD: 84.5). Childcare attendance and having siblings were associated with an increased frequency of ARIs, while exclusive breastfeeding for the first three months was associated with less ARIs, compared to exclusive breastfeeding for a longer period. This study provides detailed insight into the symptom burden of ARIs in German infants.

Keywords: LoewenKIDS; birth cohort; children; infectious diseases; longitudinal observation; newborn; respiratory infection; symptom burden; symptom diary.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
(A) Histogram of all days with symptoms within the first two years of life. (B) Cumulative distribution of days with symptoms within the first two years of life. (C) Cumulative distribution of days with specific symptoms in the first two years of life. (D) Cumulative distribution of days with any symptoms in the first two years of life in six months age strata.

**Figure 2**
(A) ARI episodes of all children in the first two years of life. (B) Cumulative distribution of ARI episodes. (C) Proportion of children with ARIs in the first two years of life per day (in days after birth). (D) Proportion of children with ARIs by month (season).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Symptom Burden and Factors Associated with Acute Respiratory Infections in the First Two Years of Life-Results from the LoewenKIDS Cohort

Affiliations

Symptom Burden and Factors Associated with Acute Respiratory Infections in the First Two Years of Life-Results from the LoewenKIDS Cohort

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical