| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 國際衛生碩士學位學程 === 102 === ASTRACT
Asthma is a common chronic disease among children and many factors influence the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma (IOM, 2000; Etzel 2003). There is no recent study in Mongolia, given the dramatic changes in lifestyles. This study investigated the relationship between asthma and environmental factors among Mongolian children.
We conducted a hospital-based case-control study from July to September 2013, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The childrens’ age was 5 to 14 years old and a total of 84 asthma patients were matched with 168 controls, by gender and age. A structured questionnaire consisted of the three parts: basic information (10 items), indoor exposures (10 items), and asthma severity for cases only. The information of the outdoor air pollution (2 items) was obtained from the official data. A conditional logistic regression analysis was performed using stepwise methods.
About 56% of the subjects were boys. Four out of 22 factors were identified in the final model. They were keeping pets inside the house (OR: 3.57; 95% CI: 1.44-8.85), family history of allergy (OR: 3.76; 95% CI: 1.90-7.42), sulfur dioxide (OR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00-1.05), and nitrogen dioxide (OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.02).
Although further investigations are needed to confirm our findings, recommendations for the prevention of asthma could include keeping away from furry animals such as dogs, increased awareness of allergen for family with allergy history, and effective program for controlling air pollution.
Key words: asthma, air pollution, home exposures
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