Epidemiological studies have shown conflicting findings on the relationship between asthma, atopy, and intestinal helminth infections. There are no such studies from Angola; therefore, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between asthma, allergic diseases, atopy, and intestinal helminth infection in Angolan schoolchildren. We performed a cross-sectional study of schoolchildren between September and November 20...
Introduction and Objectives: In Africa, few studies of sensitization profiles have been performed in children or adolescents and, in Angola, there are none. The objectives of the present study were to assess the sensitization profile of Angolan schoolchildren and to determine the relationship between that pattern, sociodemographic factors, asthma, and other allergic diseases. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectio...
BACKGROUND: Scarce information is available about the relationships between indoor air quality (IAQ) at day care centers (DCC), the estimated predisposition for asthma and the actual wheezing susceptibility. METHODS: In the Phase II of ENVIRH study, 19 DCC were recruited after cluster analysis. Children were evaluated firstly using the ISAAC questionnaire and later by a follow up questionnaire about recent whee...
Introduction: Data about drug allergy prevalence in the general population, particularly in children, are lacking. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of parent-reported drug allergy, in children attending day care centers in Lisbon and Oporto.Material and Methods: In Phase II of the “ENVIRH study – Environment and Health in Children Day Care Centers”, a health questionnaire which included questions abo...
Poor ventilation at day care centres (DCCs) was already reported, although its effects on attending children are not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between wheezing in children and indoor CO2 (a ventilation surrogate marker) in DCC and to identify behaviours and building characteristics potentially related to CO2. In phase I, 45 DCCs from Lisbon and Oporto (Portugal) were selected through a...
This project addresses a set of common clinical problems in the context of children attending day care centres. It is common sense that children get sick more often as soon as they start attending a day care centre on a daily basis and this is particularly true for some groups at risk, as wheezing infants and wheezing pre-school children. Concerning this, some questions remain unclear: 1. The role of indoor air...
This paper describes field measurements of indoor air quality (IAQ) parameters, performed in 19 Portuguese Children Day Care Centers (CDCC) during the springtime of 2011 and aims to characterize the indoor environment. The results demonstrate an association between carbon dioxide and bacterial concentrations, which in turn are affected by the number of children present in each classroom. Indoor PM10 concentrati...
Muitas crianças com idade inferior a 6 anos apresentam sibilância no decurso de infecções respiratórias. O projecto ENVIRH tem como parte integrante dos seus objectivos identificar factores de risco para sibilância relacionados com as características construtivas / qualidade do ar interior das creches e infantários. Métodos: No âmbito do Projecto ENVIRH foram seleccionadas aleatoriamente 46 Instituições Particu...