Pravalenzen von atemwegserkrankungen, allergien und sensibilisierungen: Stadt/land-unterschiede bei sechsjahrigen kindern aus ost- und Westdeutschland

Urban/rural differences in prevalences of airway diseases, allergies, and sensitizations were studied in 19,090 6-year-old children from East and West Germany. The impact of SO₂ and particulate matter on these differences were analyzed. The prevalences of sensitizations, positive specific IgE antibodies against pollen, house dust mites or cat dander, were investigated in 3699 children. The urban/rural differences in concentrations of SO₂ and suspended particles were larger in East than in West Germany. A logistic regression model was used to adjust for the possible confounding effects of sociodemographic factors and indoor air quality. In East and in West Germany the odds ratios describing urban/rural differences were significantly greater than one in most of the 13 analyzed airway diseases, -symptoms, and allergies. These odds ratios for infectious airway diseases and symptoms were greater in East than in West Germany and were reduced in East Germany when including the pollution values into the model (for frequent cough from 2.13 [CI95 1.76 - 2.58] to 1.78 [CI95 1.42 - 2.20]). In West Germany only, the prevalences of sensitizations were slightly higher in urban than in rural areas and the prevalence of sensitizations against cat dander was significantly higher. An enhancement of the urban/rural effect in sensitized children was observed for brochitis in East Germany. The higher prevalences of allergies and sensitizations (West) in the urban compared to the rural areas cannot be expalined by differences in an air pollution with SO₂ and suspended particles or by an enhancement of the effect in sensitized children.