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Caffrey Osvald E, Gong T, Lundholm C, et al. Parental socioeconomic status and asthma in children: Using a population-based cohort and family design. Clin Exp Allergy. 2021;52(1):94-103doi: 10.1111/cea.14037.
Caffrey Osvald, E., Gong, T., Lundholm, C., Larsson, H., Bk, B., & Almqvist, C. (2022). Parental socioeconomic status and asthma in children: Using a population-based cohort and family design. Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 52(1), 94-103. https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.14037
Caffrey Osvald, Emma, et al. "Parental socioeconomic status and asthma in children: Using a population-based cohort and family design." Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology vol. 52,1 (2022): 94-103. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.14037
Caffrey Osvald E, Gong T, Lundholm C, Larsson H, Bk B, Almqvist C. Parental socioeconomic status and asthma in children: Using a population-based cohort and family design. Clin Exp Allergy. 2022 Jan;52(1):94-103. doi: 10.1111/cea.14037. Epub 2021 Nov 02. PMID: 34676942.
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Clin Exp Allergy. 2022 Jan;52(1):94-103. doi: 10.1111/cea.14037. Epub 2021 Nov 02.

Parental socioeconomic status and asthma in children: Using a population-based cohort and family design.

Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Emma Caffrey Osvald, Tong Gong, Cecilia Lundholm, Henrik Larsson, Brew Bk, Catarina Almqvist

Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
  2. Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
  3. School of Medical Sciences, Campus USÖ, Örebro, Sweden.
  4. Centre for Big Data Research in Health and School of Women's and Children's Health, AGSM Building, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 34676942 DOI: 10.1111/cea.14037

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The observed association between the parental socioeconomic status (SES, measured as education/income) and asthma or wheezing in offspring may be explained by confounding of unmeasured factors (shared genes and family environment). We aimed to study the association between parental SES and asthma/wheeze using cousin comparison.

METHOD: Data were collected on individuals born in Sweden 2001-2013. Parental SES (education and income) was gathered from Statistics Sweden. Asthma/wheeze was identified using national health registers. The association between parental SES at birth and incident asthma/wheeze was estimated using Cox regression also comparing differently exposed cousins. The association between parental SES at 5 years and current asthma was estimated using logistic regression.

RESULTS: Included were 955,371 individuals. Mothers with compulsory school only (lowest education group) compared with those with further education (highest education group) was associated with incident asthma/wheeze below 1 year of age HRadj = 1.45 (1.38-1.52) and over 1 year of age HRadj = 1.17 (1.13-1.20). The corresponding estimates for the lowest income group were HRadj = 1.61 (1.54-1.69) and HRadj = 0.94 (0.92-0.97), respectively. In maternal cousin comparisons, the associations for asthma/wheeze over 1 year of age was HRadj = 1.21 (1.05-1.40) for compulsory school only and HRadj = 0.94 (0.84-1.07) for the lowest income group. The ORadj for current asthma at 5 years was 1.05 (1.00-1.11) for mother's compulsory school only and 0.98 (0.94-1.02) for mother's lowest income group. Results for estimates were similar for father's SES.

CONCLUSION: We confirm an association between low parental SES (measured as education) and asthma/wheeze. Cousin comparison suggests that this association is not wholly due to confounding of unknown familial factors, therefore supporting a causal relationship. The relationship between parental income and asthma/wheeze is less clear. This study is important for understanding risk factors for asthma/wheeze and for future prevention strategies. Further research is warranted to investigate the possible mechanisms for association between parental education and asthma/wheeze.

© 2021 The Authors. Clinical & Experimental Allergy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords: childhood asthma; family design; parental socioeconomic status

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