Table 3.
Associations between first-year antibiotics exposure and childhood asthma, allergies, and airway illnesses.
| Illness | OR, 95% CI (p-Value) | Adjusted OR a, 95% CI (p-Value) |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime-ever | ||
| Pneumonia | 2.21, 2.03–2.41 (<0.001) | 2.15, 1.95–2.37 (<0.001) |
| Croup | 1.65, 1.43–1.91 (<0.001) | 1.46, 1.24–1.73 (<0.001) |
| Wheeze | 1.57, 1.44–1.71 (<0.001) | 1.44, 1.30–1.60 (<0.001) |
| Asthma | 1.57, 1.39–1.78 (<0.001) | 1.38, 1.19–1.61 (<0.001) |
| Food allergy | 1.41, 1.26–1.57 (<0.001) | 1.29, 1.13–1.46 (<0.001) |
| Allergic rhinitis | 1.45, 1.29–1.63 (<0.001) | 1.23, 1.07–1.41 (0.004) |
| Atopic dermatitis | 1.32, 1.20–1.45 (<0.001) | 1.17, 1.05–1.31 (0.005) |
| Ear infections | 1.31, 1.15–1.48 (<0.001) | 1.15, 1.00–1.33 (0.050) |
| Rhinitis symptoms | 1.16, 1.07–1.26 (<0.001) | 1.06, 0.97–1.17 (0.212) |
| Current (one year before the survey) | ||
| Common cold (≥3 times) | 1.50, 1.38–1.63 (<0.001) | 1.38, 1.25–1.52 (<0.001) |
| Dry cough | 1.36, 1.23–1.50 (<0.001) | 1.27, 1.13–1.42 (<0.001) |
| Atopic dermatitis | 1.40, 1.25–1.57 (<0.001) | 1.25, 1.09–1.43 (0.001) |
| Wheeze | 1.36, 1.23–1.49 (<0.001) | 1.23, 1.10–1.38 (<0.001) |
| Rhinitis symptoms | 1.28, 1.18–1.39 (<0.001) | 1.15, 1.04–1.26 (0.007) |
| Lifetime-ever + Current | ||
| Asthma + current wheeze b | 1.72, 1.48–2.00 (<0.001) | 1.50, 1.25–1.79 (<0.001) |
| Asthma + no current wheeze b | 1.45, 1.17–1.80 (0.001) | 1.23, 0.95–1.58 (0.120) |
| No asthma + current wheeze b | 1.22, 1.09–1.37 (0.001) | 1.14, 0.99–1.30 (0.062) |
| Allergic rhinitis + current rhinitis c | 1.63, 1.43–1.86 (<0.001) | 1.34, 1.14–1.58 (<0.001) |
| Allergic rhinitis + no current rhinitis c | 1.35, 1.03–1.77 (0.029) | 1.06, 0.77–1.46 (0.735) |
| No allergic rhinitis + current rhinitis c | 1.20, 1.10–1.32 (<0.001) | 1.10, 0.99–1.22 (0.090) |
a Adjusted for the child’s age, sex, district, family history of atopy, breastfeeding, early home decoration, first-year pet-keeping, first-year environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and first-year home dampness-related exposures. b The reference group was children with no asthma and no current wheeze. c The reference group was children with no allergic rhinitis and no current rhinitis symptoms.