Home LiteratureArticle Details
PMID: 15994260 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Multicenter Study

No increase in the prevalence of asthma, allergies, and atopic sensitisation among children in Germany: 1992-2001.

Thorax ·Vol. 60 ·No. 7 ·2005-07-00 ·Pages 545-8

Zöllner IK, Weiland SK, Piechotowski I, Gabrio T, von Mutius E, Link B, Pfaff G, Kouros B, Wuthe J

Abstract

From 1970 to 1990 increasing rates of asthma and allergic sensitisation were observed in several countries. The aim of this study was to investigate time trends in the prevalence of asthma and allergic sensitisation among school children in Germany between 1992 and 2001. Parental reports of asthma, hay fever, and wheezing and measurements of specific serum IgE antibodies were investigated in six serial cross sectional surveys of 9-11 year old school children in three study areas in south west Germany. A total of 6762 school children of mean age 10 years (mean participation rate 77.9%) took part in the investigation in the three study areas. Over the 9 year study period no increase in the prevalence of current wheezing and asthma was observed. In addition, the prevalence of atopic sensitisation remained unchanged during the observation period. These data, using parental reports and objective measures of allergy, suggest that there has been no further increase in the prevalence of asthma and atopy since 1992. The epidemic may thus have reached a plateau.

MeSH Terms
Asthma/epidemiology Child Cross-Sectional Studies Female Germany/epidemiology Humans Hypersensitivity/epidemiology Hypersensitivity, Immediate/epidemiology Immunoglobulin E/blood Male Prevalence Regression Analysis Respiratory Sounds Time Factors
Chemicals
Immunoglobulin E
Authors & Affiliations
9 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Zöllner I K
Department of Epidemiology and Health Reporting, Baden-Wuerttemberg State Health Office, Wiederholdstr 15, D-70174 Stuttgart, Germany. [email protected]
Weiland S K
Piechotowski I
Gabrio T
von Mutius E
Link B
Pfaff G
Kouros B
Wuthe J
References (30)
30 references, click to expand
  1. International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC): rationale and methods.
    Eur Respir J. 1995 Mar;8(3):483-91 PMID: 7789502
  2. Reactivity to cold-air hyperventilation in normal and in asthmatic children in a survey of 5,697 schoolchildren in southern Bavaria.
    Am Rev Respir Dis. 1993 Mar;147(3):565-72 PMID: 8442588
  3. Increasing prevalence of hay fever and atopy among children in Leipzig, East Germany.
    Lancet. 1998 Mar 21;351(9106):862-6 PMID: 9525363
  4. Hygiene hypothesis and endotoxin: what is the evidence?
    Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 Apr;4(2):113-7 PMID: 15021064
  5. Asthma and atopy: has peak prevalence been reached?
    Eur Respir J. 2004 Mar;23(3):359-60 PMID: 15065820
  6. No further increase in asthma, hay fever and atopic sensitisation in adolescents living in Switzerland.
    Eur Respir J. 2004 Mar;23(3):407-13 PMID: 15065830
  7. Influences in allergy: epidemiology and the environment.
    J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 Mar;113(3):373-9; quiz 380 PMID: 15007331
  8. Trends in prevalence of symptoms of asthma, hay fever, and eczema in 12-14 year olds in the British Isles, 1995-2002: questionnaire survey.
    BMJ. 2004 May 1;328(7447):1052-3 PMID: 15028634
  9. Asthma prevalence in adults: good news?
    Thorax. 2004 Aug;59(8):637-8 PMID: 15282378
  10. Diet and asthma.
    Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004 Oct 1;170(7):725-9 PMID: 15256393
  11. Environmental allergen exposure, sensitisation and asthma: from whole populations to individuals at risk.
    Thorax. 2004 Oct;59(10):825-7 PMID: 15454646
  12. Declining asthma prevalence in Hong Kong Chinese schoolchildren.
    Clin Exp Allergy. 2004 Oct;34(10):1550-5 PMID: 15479269
  13. Changes in asthma prevalence: two surveys 15 years apart.
    Arch Dis Child. 1989 Oct;64(10):1452-6 PMID: 2817930
  14. Has the prevalence of asthma increased in children? Evidence from the national study of health and growth 1973-86.
    BMJ. 1990 May 19;300(6735):1306-10 PMID: 2369661
  15. Respiratory symptoms and atopy in Aberdeen schoolchildren: evidence from two surveys 25 years apart.
    BMJ. 1992 Apr 4;304(6831):873-5 PMID: 1392746
  16. Lower prevalence of asthma and atopy in Turkish children living in Germany.
    Eur Respir J. 1999 Mar;13(3):577-82 PMID: 10232429
  17. Changing prevalence of asthma in Australian children.
    BMJ. 1994 Jun 18;308(6944):1591-6 PMID: 8025424
  18. Health effects of air pollution.
    J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 Nov;114(5):1116-23 PMID: 15536419
  19. Arterial carbon dioxide tension on admission as a marker of in-hospital mortality in community-acquired pneumonia.
    Am J Med. 2005 Feb;118(2):145-50 PMID: 15694899
  20. Environment and development of atopy.
    Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2005 Apr;5(2):167-72 PMID: 15764908
  21. Are all wheezing disorders in very young (preschool) children increasing in prevalence?
    Lancet. 2001 Jun 9;357(9271):1821-5 PMID: 11410189
  22. Is the increase in childhood asthma coming to an end? Findings from three surveys of schoolchildren in Rome, Italy.
    Eur Respir J. 2001 May;17(5):881-6 PMID: 11488320
  23. Are asthma and allergies in children and adolescents increasing? Results from ISAAC phase I and phase III surveys in Münster, Germany.
    Allergy. 2003 Jul;58(7):572-9 PMID: 12823113
  24. Prevalence of asthma and allergy in schoolchildren in Belmont, Australia: three cross sectional surveys over 20 years.
    BMJ. 2004 Feb 14;328(7436):386-7 PMID: 14962876
  25. Continuing decline in acute asthma episodes in the community.
    Arch Dis Child. 2004 Mar;89(3):282-5 PMID: 14977715
  26. Trends in the prevalence of asthma in Scottish and English primary school children 1982-92.
    Thorax. 1995 Sep;50(9):992-3 PMID: 8539683
  27. Secular trend in the occurrence of asthma among children and young adults: critical appraisal of repeated cross sectional surveys.
    BMJ. 1997 Jun 21;314(7097):1795-9 PMID: 9224081
  28. The home environment and asthma symptoms in childhood: two population based case-control studies 13 years apart.
    Thorax. 1997 Jul;52(7):618-24 PMID: 9246133
  29. Increased prevalence of sensitization against aeroallergens in adults in West compared with East Germany.
    Clin Exp Allergy. 1997 Aug;27(8):886-92 PMID: 9291284
  30. Investigation into the increase in hay fever and eczema at age 16 observed between the 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts.
    BMJ. 1997 Sep 20;315(7110):717-21 PMID: 9314757
Article Info
Journal
Thorax
Abbr.
Thorax
ISSN
0040-6376
DOI
10.1136/thx.2004.029561
Email
[email protected]
Published
2005-07-00
Pages
545-8
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
0417353
PMCID
PMC1747445
Subset
IM
Corrections
ErratumIn
-
CommentIn
PMID: 16517591
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1136/thx.2004.029561 PMC Full Text View journal details
Analysis Services
Analysis Services

Contact

No. 2 Wenbo Road, Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong

Qilu Normal University · Genelibs Bioinformatics Lab

750 Shunhua Rd, Jinan

2F, Bldg F, University Science Park

Tel: 0531-88819269

WeChat Official Account

Follow our WeChat subscription account for real-time updates and the latest in medical and biological research.


Business Email

E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright © 2026.Genelibs Jinan Honghui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. 鲁ICP备20007159号-2