Table 1.
Variables to be collected in the cross-sectional and nested case-control studies
| Cross-sectional | Case-control | |
| Allergy questions | ||
| Core asthma symptom questions (ISAAC phase II) | X | X |
| Core rhinitis symptom questions (ISAAC phase II) | X | X |
| Core eczema symptom questions (ISAAC phase II) | X | X |
| Supplementary asthma questions (ISAAC phase II) | X | |
| Asthma management questions (ISAAC phase II) | X | |
| Rhinitis management questions (ISAAC phase II) | X | |
| Eczema management questions (ISAAC phase II) | X | |
| Knowledge attitude practice questions (KAP) | X | |
| Demographic and socio-economic | ||
| Sex | X | X |
| Age | X | X |
| Race | X | X |
| On socio-economic level: | ||
| parental schooling | X | |
| parental occupation | X | X |
| domestic goods | X | X |
| monthly income | X | X |
| Environmental factors | ||
| Sanitation and water supply | X | X |
| Does the house have electricity? | X | X |
| Pets | ||
| Has the child ever had a cat or dog living in the house? | X | |
| Does the child have a cat or dog living in the house currently? | X | X |
| Presence of animals outside household | X | X |
| Indoor smoking | X | X |
| Exposure to a farming environment | X | X |
| Housing (e.g. construction, number of rooms) | X | X |
| Presence of allergens in dust (mites and cockroach) | X | |
| Presence of endotoxin in the house | X | |
| Cooking materials | X | X |
| Maternal and family related factors | ||
| Maternal smoking during pregnancy | X | |
| Asthma and other allergic diseases in the family | X | |
| Breast-feeding duration | X | |
| Vaccination (BCG, DTP, measles) | X | |
| Whether attended day care (and for what period) | X | |
| Number of people who live in each household | X | X |
| Number of siblings or children in the household | X | X |
| Birth order | X | X |
| Diet | ||
| Food frequency questionnaire | X | X |
| Consumption of unpasteurized milk | X | |
| Migration | ||
| Place of birth of child | X | |
| Place of birth of father | X | |
| Place of birth of mother | X | |
| Was the father brought up in an urban or rural area? | X | |
| Was the mother brought up in an urban or rural area? | X | |
| Period of time and places living outside place of birth during first 5 years of life | X | |
| Details of relatives living in the city of Esmeraldas | X | |
| Exercise/sedentarism | ||
| Number of hours of television watched daily | X | X |
| Frequency of vigorous exercise | X | X |
| Nutritional assessment | ||
| Hemoglobin | X | X |
| Height | X | X |
| Weight | X | X |
| Mid-upper arm circumference | X | |
| Triceps skin fold thickness | X | |
| Specific Infections | ||
| Intestinal helminth and protozoal infections (stool examinations) | X | X |
| A. lumbricoides IgE | X | |
| IgG for Toxoplasma. Gondii, Helicobacter pylori and viral infections | X | |
| Exercise test for exercise-induced bronchospasm | X | |
| Atopy | ||
| Skin prick test | X | X |
| Total and specific IgE titres to house dust mite and American cockroach | X | |
| Immunoregulatory cytokines | ||
| IL-10, IL-13, IFN-γ | X |