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Comparative
Study of Hygiene Status in Asthmatic and Non Asthmatic Children
Jude
James*, Ajith Rajan**, Santhichandra Pai D*,
Venugopal P
Departments of Tuberculosis & Chest Diseases, Physiology*
and Biochemistry**
T.D.Medical College, Alappuzha.
Abstract:
Background:
Asthma is becoming more and more common throughout
the world. Its prevalence has doubted in only 15 years. The so
called Hygiene Hypothesis suggests that, good house-hold hygiene and
less number of infections in early childhood can predispose asthma in
children.
Objective: The
study was undertaken to verify the proposed relation between good
hygiene and incidence of asthma in children.
Design: A
cross-sectional case control study of 240 subjects with data of their
hygiene status and total number of treated infections per year.
Setting: The
study was conducted in T.D.Medical College, Alappuzha. The Department
of Paediatrics provided subjects for study. Clinical evaluation of
Asthmatic children was done in the Department of Respiratory Medicine.
Analysis of the hygiene status was done under the guidance of the
Department of Community Medicine.
Subjects: The
study included 120 asthmatic children selected from the asthma clinic
and same number of subjects with no history of wheezing selected from
the general pediatric OPD of T.D., Medical College, Alappuzha.
Results:
Significantly high values of hygiene score (mean 20.625) was noted for
the cases when compared to the controls (mean 18.15) p = 0.000.
Number of respiratory infections per year for cases and
controls were more or less same (4.85 and 4.48) p = 0.1050
Conclusion:
Good household hygiene is independently associated with increased
incidence of asthma in children.
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