%0 Journal Article %A Doxa Kotzia %A Apostolis Giotas %A Christine Kottaridi %A Eleni Kletsiou %A Constantinos Douros %A Petros Karakitsos %A Vasiliki Matziou %A Konstantinos N. Priftis %T Environmental factors associated with wheezing illness in pre-schoolers %D 2014 %J European Respiratory Journal %P P1182 %V 44 %N Suppl 58 %X Aim: Previous studies showed that various environmental factors may contribute in the development of the wheezing illness in early childhood. The aim was to assess the impact of environmental factors (climate, air pollution, passive exposure to second-hand smoking, viral infections) in the development of wheezing symptoms in preschoolers attending nursery, during the period December 2010-June 2011 in Greece.Methods: The study population consisted of 233 preschool aged children, attending nursery: 120 children living in a rural area with low air-pollution (Viotia) and 113 in a metropolitan city (Athens). Urine cotinine was measured in the beginning of the study and 2 months later. The mean value was considered as a reliable index of tobacco smoke exposure. Nasal-pharyngeal swabs (NPS) were collected for 4 consecutive time periods during the school year December 2010-June 2011 and examined with RT-PCR for Adenovirus, Bocavirus, Coronavirus, Enteroviruses, Influenza (A, B, C) viruses, Metapneumovirus, Parainfluenza (1, 2, 3, 4) viruses, Rhinovirus, and RSV (A, B). Children were generally well during the sampling period. For the analysis of the results multivariate analysis was employed.Results: Eighteen children had at least one episode of wheeze during study period. The existence of wheeze during this period was related with cotinine levels (p=0.032) and living in urban area (p=0.023). Sensitization to aeroallergens, parental education, or virus' detection when asymptomatic were not associated with presence of wheeze.Conclusion: Preschool children leaving in urban areas and whose parents tend to smoke are more prone to develop wheezing episodes compared to those leaving in non-smoking or rural environment. %U