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Increasing prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in three selected areas in East Germany

¹ GSF - Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, Institut fur Epidemiologie, Ingolstaedter Landstraße 1, Neuherberg, Germany. ² Lehrstuhl für Epidemiologie, Institut für medizinische Informationsverarbeitung, Biometrie und Epidemiologie der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Neuherberg, Germany

CORRESPONDENCE: J. Heinrich, GSF - Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, Institut fur Epidemiologie, Ingolstaedter Landstraße 1, D-85764, Neuherberg, Germany. Fax: 49 8931873380

Keywords: asthma, atopic diseases, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, children, East Germany

Received: July 25, 2000
Accepted April 23, 2001

This study was supported exclusively by a governmental funding source, the Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt) Grant No. 298 61 724.

The prevalence of asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and allergic rhinitis in children was lower in East Germany compared to West Germany. The reasons for this difference are still not understood. This study tested the hypothesis that prevalence of BHR increased in East German children after reunification.

Two consecutive cross-sectional surveys of schoolchildren aged 8–14 yrs from three 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 data was analysed.

The prevalence of BHR increased from 6.4% in 1992–1993 to 11.6% in 1995–1996 (odds ratio (OR): 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3–3.0, adjusted for age, sex, season, community and parental education). No changes were found for asthma, allergic rhinitis or allergic sensitization. In contrast, physician diagnosed bronchitis, pneumonia and frequent colds decreased significantly. The observed increase in the prevalence of BHR was reduced (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 0.95–2.3) after adjustment for several indoor factors.

In conclusion, while the prevalence of nonallergic respiratory diseases seems to decrease, the prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness might be a first indicator of the suspected increase of asthma prevalence in East Germany. The present results give indirect evidence, that less respiratory infections may be associated with higher bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

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