Predictors of Allergic Airway Disease in Children Under Two Years of Age

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of factors responsible for allergic airway disease among children under 2 years of age.

Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Pediatrics, LUMHS, Jamshoro, from October 2022 to April 2023. Children under 2 years of age diagnosed with allergic airway disease were included. Both male and female children with a disease duration of at least 3 months were enrolled. Participants were assessed for various factors, including family history of asthma, protein milk allergy, allergic rhinitis, low socioeconomic status, maternal education, respiratory tract infections (RTIs), and prematurity.

All collected data were entered into an Excel file and subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 23.

Results: A total of 121 children were enrolled, with a male predominance (69.4%) and a mean age of 12.28 ± 3.40 months. Protein milk allergy was identified in 48.8% of participants, allergic rhinitis in 43.8%, and recurrent RTIs in 40.5%, while 25.6% had a history of prematurity.

Stratification analysis revealed that RTIs were the most statistically significant predictor across both disease duration (p = 0.004) and exclusive breastfeeding status (p = 0.049). RTIs were considerably more frequent among non-breastfed children (33.1%) compared to exclusively breastfed infants (7.4%).

Furthermore, prematurity was the only factor demonstrating a statistically significant association with gender (p = 0.013).

Conclusion: Lack of exclusive breastfeeding and recurrent RTIs were identified as the most significant modifiable predictors of allergic airway disease. Other contributing factors included protein milk allergy, allergic rhinitis, prematurity, and low socioeconomic status.