Prenatal and early life exposure to air pollution and the risk of severe lower respiratory tract infections during early childhood: the Espoo Cohort Study.

Background: There is inconsistent evidence of the effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on the occurrence of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in early childhood. We assessed the effects of individual-level prenatal and early life exposure to air pollutants on the risk of LRTIs in early life.

Methods: We studied 2568 members of the population-based Espoo Cohort Study born between 1984 and 1990 and living in 1991 in the City of Espoo, Finland.

Residential greenness during pregnancy and early life and development of asthma up to 27 years of age: The Espoo Cohort Study.

Previous studies have suggested that living close to green spaces has protective health effects, but potential effects on asthma are contradictory. We investigated the association between the amount of greenness in the residential area during pregnancy and early life and development of asthma in the first 27 years of life. The study population included all 2568 members of the Espoo Cohort Study, Finland.

Effect of cold winters on the risk of new asthma: a case-crossover study in Finland.

Background: Cold weather increases respiratory symptoms and provokes exacerbations of asthma, but there are no previous studies on its role in the aetiology of asthma.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that a cold winter increases the risk of developing asthma during the following 1 to 2 years.

Methods: We conducted a case-crossover study of 315 newly diagnosed cases of asthma from the population-based Espoo Cohort Study from birth to the age of 27 years.

Occupation and occurrence of respiratory infections among adults with newly diagnosed asthma.

Background: Work environments are potential areas for spreading respiratory infections. We hypothesized that certain occupations increase susceptibility to respiratory infections among adults with asthma. Our objective was to compare the occurrence of respiratory infections among different occupations in adults with newly diagnosed asthma.

Asthma and Respiratory Infections From Birth to Young Adulthood.

We applied data from a population-based prospective study, the Espoo Cohort Study (n = 2,568), to identify the potential susceptibility of persons with asthma to respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Information on the occurrence of asthma and both upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) was collected with a questionnaire at baseline and at the 6-year and 20-year follow-up studies, and from the Finnish national health registries. We estimated age- and sex-specific incidence rate differences (IRDs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) by applying negative binomial regression.

Maternal antibiotic use and infections during pregnancy and offspring asthma: the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study and a nationwide register cohort.

Maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy has been linked to asthma risk in children, but the role of underlying infections remains unclear. We investigated the association of maternal antibiotic use and infections during pregnancy with offspring risk of asthma. We used two population-based cohorts: the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) (n = 53 417) and a register-based cohort (n = 417 548).

ERS International Congress 2020: highlights from the Epidemiology and Environment Assembly.

In this article, early career members of the Epidemiology and Environment Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) summarise a selection of five sessions from the ERS 2020 Virtual International Congress. The topics covered include risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases over the life course, from early life origins to occupational exposures in adulthood, and the interplay between these risk factors, including gene-environment interactions. Novel results were also presented on smoking prevention and potential risks of vaping.

Short-term prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of preterm birth - A population-based cohort study in Finland.

Background: Previous studies have provided evidence that prenatal exposure to low-level air pollution increases the risk of preterm birth (PTB), but the findings of the effects of short-term exposure have been inconclusive. Moreover, there is little knowledge on potential synergistic effects of different combinations of air pollutants.

Objectives: To assess independent and joint effects of prenatal exposure to air pollutants during the week prior to the delivery on the risk of PTB.

Is the Association of Early Day Care Attendance with Childhood Asthma Explained by Underlying Susceptibility?

Background: Previous studies of early day care attendance and asthma development are inconsistent, which may be explained by inadequate control of confounding and effect modification. We examined the effect of early day care on the risk of asthma taking into account the underlying susceptibility to asthma.

Methods: The study included 55,404 children participating in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.

Dental caries is associated with lower respiratory tract infections: A population-based cohort study.

Introduction: Dental caries and respiratory tract infections are among the most common infectious diseases worldwide and they both are appearing in the respiratory system. However, their relations are still unclear. This study investigated the association of dental caries on the risk of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in young adulthood.

Synergistic effects of prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O) on the risk of preterm birth: A population-based cohort study.

Background: There is some evidence that prenatal exposure to low-level air pollution increases the risk of preterm birth (PTB), but little is known about synergistic effects of different pollutants.

Objectives: We assessed the independent and joint effects of prenatal exposure to air pollution during the entire duration of pregnancy.

Methods: The study population consisted of the 2568 members of the Espoo Cohort Study, born between 1984 and 1990, and living in the City of Espoo, Finland.

Early Respiratory Infections and Dental Caries in the First 27 Years of Life: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Early-life respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and dental caries are among the most common infectious diseases worldwide. The relations between early RTIs and development of caries in permanent teeth have not been studied earlier. We assessed childhood RTIs as potential predictors of caries in young adulthood in a 20-year prospective population-based cohort study (The Espoo Cohort Study).

Early Respiratory Infections and the Development of Asthma in the First 27 Years of Life.

Previous studies have provided contradictory evidence on the role of early childhood respiratory infections in the development of asthma and other allergic diseases during childhood. We investigated early-life respiratory infections as predictors of the development of asthma in a 20-year prospective cohort study (the Espoo Cohort Study, 1991-2011). Information on upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) was collected with a parent-administered baseline questionnaire covering the preceding 12 months (part 1; n = 2,228), and information on LRTIs leading to hospitalization was obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Registry (part 2; n = 2,568).

Allergic diseases and asthma in the family predict the persistence and onset-age of asthma: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Family history of asthma and other allergic diseases have been linked to the risk of childhood asthma previously, but little is known about their effect on the age-of-onset and persistency of asthma until young adulthood.

Methods: We assessed the effect of the family history of asthma and allergic diseases on persistent vs. transient, and early- vs.