Risk Assessment of Allergic Diseases Among Preschool Children in Guangzhou, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Basic Information of Preschool Children Included in the Study

Variable	Total cohort	Suspected Allergy N = 1710^a	Excluded Allergy N = 1727^a	p-value^b
Sex				<0.001
Male	1863 (54%)	996 (58%)	867 (50%)
Female	1574 (46%)	714 (42%)	860 (50%)
Age
Months	57 (49, 66)	58 (49, 66)	57 (48, 65)	0.069
Years	4.75 (4.08, 5.50)	4.83 (4.08, 5.50)	4.75 (4.00, 5.42)	0.069
Ethic				0.007
Han	3306 (96%)	1660 (97%)	1646 (95%)
Others	131 (3.8%)	50 (2.9%)	81 (4.7%)
Mode of delivery				0.300
Premature cesarean delivery	112 (3.3%)	58 (3.4%)	54 (3.1%)
Full-term cesarean delivery	1058 (31%)	535 (31%)	523 (30%)
Premature natural delivery	107 (3.1%)	62 (3.6%)	45 (2.6%)
Full-term natural delivery	2160 (63%)	1055 (62%)	1105 (64%)
Birth order				<0.001
First child	1937 (56%)	1048 (61%)	889 (51%)
Second child	1323 (39%)	596 (35%)	727 (42%)
Third child and above	176 (5.1%)	65 (3.8%)	111 (6.4%)
Neonatal eczema				<0.001
Mild to moderate	1072 (31%)	770 (45%)	302 (17%)
Severe	51 (1.5%)	47 (2.7%)	4 (0.2%)
Newborn breastfeeding^c				<0.001
Exclusive breastfeeding	1697 (49%)	833 (49%)^d	864 (50%)^d
Cow’s milk	435 (13%)	194 (11%)^d	241 (14%)^e
Mixed feeding	1257 (37%)	644 (38%)^d	613 (35%)^d
Hydrolyzed formulas	48 (1.4%)	39 (2.3%)^d	9 (0.5%)^e
Complementary feeding time				0.013
< 4 months	116 (3.4%)	47 (2.7%)^d	69 (4.0%)^e
4~6 months	1061 (31%)	545 (32%)^d	516 (30%)^d
6~12 months	2119 (62%)	1062 (62%)^d	1057 (61%)^d
≥12 months	141 (4.1%)	56 (3.3%)^d	85 (4.9%)^e
Living Environment				0.200
Urban Village	2092 (61%)	1043 (61.0%)	1049 (60.7%)
Rural self-built houses	106 (3.1%)	43 (2.5%)	63 (3.6%)
Community	1239 (36%)	624 (36.5%)	615 (35.6%)
Living floors				0.048
Ground floor (1–3 floors)	1026 (30%)	478 (28%)^d	548 (32%)^e
Mid-floor (4–6 floors)	1221 (36%)	618 (36%)^d	603 (35%)^d
High floor (≥ 6 floors)	1190 (35%)	614 (36%)^d	576 (33%)^d
Exposure to pets	311 (9.0%)	170 (9.9%)	141 (8.2%)	0.069

Notes: ^an (%); Median (IQR). ^bPearson’s Chi-squared test, Wilcoxon rank sum test and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare the difference between the two groups. ^cFeeding for infants during the first 6 months of life. ^d,ePairwise comparison of the chi-square test, if the same letter is included between two groups, indicate no significant difference, and vice versa.

Table 2 Analysis of Family Members Reporting Allergies

Variable	N	Suspected Allergy N = 1710^a	Excluded Allergy N = 1727^a	p-value^b
Mother	3437	645 (38%)	232 (13%)	<0.001
Father	3437	584 (34%)	219 (13%)	<0.001
Maternal grandfather	3437	233 (14%)	78 (4.5%)	<0.001
Maternal grandmother	3437	180 (11%)	56 (3.2%)	<0.001
Paternal grandfather	3437	153 (8.9%)	55 (3.2%)	<0.001
Paternal grandmother	3437	145 (8.5%)	47 (2.7%)	<0.001

Notes: ^an (%); Median (IQR). ^bPearson’s Chi-squared test was used to compare the difference between the two groups. If the difference between groups is statistically significant, use bold fonts.

Figure 1 Differences in the percentage of preschoolers reporting allergies associated with (A) parental and (B) family member allergies.

Figure 2 Analysis of (A) cross-over and (B) family member co-morbidity characteristics of allergic diseases in preschool children.

Notes: Each plot consists of three subplots, an intersection-size bar chart (top), a set-size bar chart (bottom left), and an intersection matrix between sets (bottom right). The columns of the matrix represent each intersection combination and correspond to the horizontal coordinates of the bar chart; the rows of the matrix represent the sets and correspond to the vertical coordinates of the bar chart.

Table 3 Differences in Prenatal Information for Preschool-Age Children with Allergies

Variable	Overall, N = 3437^a	Suspected Allergy N = 1710^a	Excluded Allergy N = 1727^a	p-value^b
Pregnancy age
Mother	28.0 (25.0, 31.0)	28.0 (25.0, 31.0)	28.0 (25.0, 31.0)	0.009
Father	30.0 (27.0, 33.0)	29.0 (27.0, 33.0)	30.0 (27.0, 34.0)	0.068
Planned pregnancy	2242 (65%)	1062 (62%)	1180 (68%)	<0.001
Scientific pregnancy^c				0.005
Take a training	521 (15%)	255 (15%)^h	266 (15%)^h
Self-study online	2056 (60%)	1070 (63%)^h	986 (57%)^i
Others’ experiences	634 (18%)	285 (17%)^h	349 (20%)^i
Almost no active learning	226 (6.6%)	100 (5.8%)^h	126 (7.3%)^h
Mother’s education				<0.001
Undergraduates and above	1679 (49%)	951 (56%)^h	728 (42%)^i
Secondary	872 (25%)	388 (23%)^h	484 (28%)^i
Junior secondary and below	886 (26%)	371 (22%)^h	515 (30%)^i
Father’s education				<0.001
Undergraduates and above	1602 (47%)	872 (51%)^h	730 (42%)^i
Secondary	947 (28%)	452 (26%)^h	495 (29%)^h
Junior secondary and below	888 (26%)	386 (23%)^h	502 (29%)^i
Family economy^d				0.300
Less than 5000	1310 (38%)	635 (37%)	675 (39%)
5000~8000	1132 (33%)	560 (33%)	572 (33%)
8000 or more	995 (29%)	515 (30%)	480 (28%)
Passive smoking^e				<0.001
Often	160 (4.7%)	106 (6.2%)^h	54 (3.1%)^i
General	407 (12%)	242 (14%)^h	165 (9.6%)^i
Less	1039 (30%)	530 (31%)^h	509 (29%)^h
Almost none.	1831 (53%)	832 (49%)^h	999 (58%)^i
Pregnancy complications	412 (12%)	259 (15%)	153 (8.9%)	<0.001
History of paternal smoking^f
Years	1.0 (0.0, 9.0)	1.0 (0.0, 9.0)	1.0 (0.0, 9.0)	0.067
Tobacco consumption^g	2 (0, 38)	2 (0, 44)	2 (0, 38)	0.021

Notes: ^an (%); Median (IQR). ^bPearson’s Chi-squared test, Wilcoxon rank sum test and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare the difference between the two groups. ^cThe access to scientific knowledge during pregnancy reflects, in a sense, the level of motivation and attention of the pregnant woman. ^dThe household economy is determined by surveying the average amount of discretionary money available to the household each month (in RMB). ^eSpecifically refers to a woman’s exposure to smoke during pregnancy. ^fSpecifically refers to father’s history of smoking prior to successful conception. ^gTobacco consumption = year*average cigarettes/day. ^h,iPairwise comparison of the chi-square test, if the same letter is included between two groups, indicate no significant difference, and vice versa. If the difference between groups is statistically significant, use bold fonts.

Figure 3 Differences in maternal prenatal stress scores for preschool-age children with allergies.

Notes: (A) During pregnancy, you are interested and passionate about yourself about what is happening around you. (B) During pregnancy, you are anticipating the imminent arrival of a child. (C) You often feel disappointed during pregnancy. (D) During pregnancy, you often have very complicated and mixed feelings and thoughts. (E) During pregnancy, you can get satisfactory help from your family when you are in trouble. (F) I was happy with the way my family spent time with me during my pregnancy. (G) During pregnancy, when I was down or full of stress, I could often handle it very well. (H) Satisfaction scores during pregnancy overall.

Figure 4 A forest plot of the effects of early childhood life conditions, maternal lifestyle during pregnancy, and family member allergies on child allergy.

Notes: In early childhood life conditions (A), gender, mode of delivery, neonatal eczema, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, living environment and floor, parental education level and parental allergy were included for multifactorial logistic regression analysis, and these possible risk factors were adjusted. In maternal lifestyle during pregnancy (B), birth order, parental age, passive smoking, learning of scientific pregnancy, pregnancy complications and paternal smoking history were included for multifactorial logistic regression analysis and these possible risk factors were adjusted. In family member allergies (C), all family members were included independently for multifactorial logistic regression analysis with adjustment.