Increasing Prevalence of Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness in Three Selected Areas in East Germany
Copyright #ERS Journals Ltd 2001 Eur Respir J 2001; 18: 451–458 European Respiratory Journal Printed in UK – all rights reserved ISSN 0903-1936 Increasing prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in three selected areas in East Germany C. Frye*, J. Heinrich*, M. Wjst*, H-E. Wichmann*,#, for the Bitterfeld study group Increasing prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in three selected areas in East *GSF - Forschungszentrum fu¨r Um- Germany. C. Frye, J. Heinrich, M. Wjst, H-E. Wichmann, for the Bitterfeld study welt und Gesundheit, Institut fur # Epidemiologie, Ingolstaedter Land- group. ERS Journals Ltd 2001. # ABSTRACT: The prevalence of asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and strabe 1, Neuherberg, Germany. Lehr- stuhl fu¨r Epidemiologie, Institut fu¨r allergic rhinitis in children was lower in East Germany compared to West Germany. medizinische Informationsverarbei- The reasons for this difference are still not understood. This study tested the hypothesis tung, Biometrie und Epidemiologie that prevalence of BHR increased in East German children after reunification. der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universita¨t Two consecutive cross-sectional surveys of schoolchildren aged 8–14 yrs from three Mu¨nchen, Neuherberg, Germany. communities in East Germany were carried out in 1992–1993 and 1995–1996. A subsample of 530 and 790 children with complete lung function and cold air challenge Correspondence: J. Heinrich, GSF - data was analysed. Forschungszentrum fu¨r Umwelt und The prevalence of BHR increased from 6.4% in 1992–1993 to 11.6% in 1995–1996 Gesundheit, Institut fur Epidemiologie, Ingolstaedter Landstrabe 1, D-85764 (odds ratio (OR): 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3–3.0, adjusted for age, sex, Neuherberg, Germany.
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