Association between social economic status and asthma in Korean children: An analysis of the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010–2012)

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions, and its prevalence has been increasing in recent decades. Social economic status is a well-known risk factor for asthma. This study was performed to investigate the relationship between social economic status and asthma in Korean children. METHODS: Data were acquired from 4,397 children, aged under 18 years who participated in the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, which was conducted from 2010 to 2012. The presence of asthma was based on self-reported, physician-diagnosed asthma in the Health Interview Surveys. RESULTS: The prevalence of pediatric asthma was 5.3%, while the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in children was 14.0%. In univariate analysis, asthmatic children tended to be male, to be older, to have asthmatic mothers, to suffer from atopic dermatitis and to live in urban areas (P < 0.05). The parents' marital status, employment status, education level, and the number of household members were not associated with pediatric asthma. In logistic regression analysis, older age, male sex, maternal asthma, pediatric atopic dermatitis, and urban residence were associated with a higher prevalence of childhood asthma (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Socioeconomic status was not an important risk factor for asthma in Korean children in our study. It is conceivable that socioeconomic factor could affect the asthma prevalence in a different manner in each country. Further studies are warranted to explore mechanisms responsible for the association between socioeconomic status and asthma in children.