Indoor swimming pool attendance and respiratory and dermal health in schoolchildren--HITEA Catalonia.

Background: Health benefits of swimming in pools may outweigh adverse health outcomes in children, but evidence from epidemiological studies is scarce or inconclusive for different health outcomes. We evaluated the association between indoor swimming pool attendance during childhood and respiratory and dermal conditions and symptoms in Catalan schoolchildren.

Methods: Cross-sectional study in 2758 children aged 6-12 years from 18 primary schools in Barcelona province. Information on regular indoor swimming pool attendance in seven age periods, history of health conditions (asthma, wheezing, eczema, dermatitis, rhinitis, allergic rhinitis) and symptoms in the last 12 months (wheezing, dermatitis, rhinitis and number of cold, tonsillitis or otitis episodes) were collected through parental self-administered questionnaires. The associations between swimming pool attendance and health outcomes were evaluated using multivariate mixed logistic and Poisson regression models.

Results: Regular indoor swimming before 2 years of age was not related to having ever had asthma (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.14; 95%CI = 0.73-1.77), wheezing (OR = 1.02; 95%CI = 0.82-1.28), or eczema (OR = 1.09; 95%CI = 0.87-1.36). Current indoor swimming was not associated with symptoms in the last 12 months (Incidence Rate Ratio for otitis was 0.94; 95%CI = 0.77-1.15). Stratification by eczema or maternal education gave very similar results.

Conclusion: This new large population-based study indicates that regular indoor swimming during infancy does not increase respiratory, allergic or dermal symptoms in Catalan schoolchildren aged 6-12 years.