Leisure time activity and new onset of wheezing during adolescence in Germany

¹ University Children's Hospital, Technical University, Dresden, Germany
² Paediatric Department, Sana Hospital Ruegen, Germany
³ Institute for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
⁴ Dr. von Haunersches Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
⁵ Dept of Epidemiology, University of Ulm, Germany

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: christian.vogelberg{at}uniklinikum-dresden.de.

	Abstract

Asthma prevalence is increasing in adult and paediatric patients. In this study we analysed the association between different leisure time activities and new onset of wheezing in adolescents aged 16-18 years taking part in a questionnaire based follow-up of the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood in Munich and Dresden.

Among the 3785 adolescents who took part in the follow-up (response 76%), 2910 adolescents without earlier episode of wheezing in childhood were included in the analyses. 330 (11.3%) of them reported new onset of wheeze during the last 12 months.

In the bivariate analyses, exercising >1·week^-1 as well as computer work >1 hr·day^-1 were inversely related to new onset of wheeze. In contrast, visiting discotheques on a regular base increased the risk of new onset of wheeze (12.9% vs. 9.9%; p=0.02). The observed inverse relation between physical activity and new onset of wheeze was not an independent effect but mediated by differences in active smoking.

The association between physical activity and new onset of wheeze disappeared when active smoking was taken into account. However, our data do not allow to determine whether smoking operated as a confounder or as intermediate factor, i.e. whether physical activities prevented active smoking.

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