THE RELATIONSHIP OF NASAL DISORDERS TO LOWER RESPIRATORY-TRACT SYMPTOMS AND ILLNESS IN A RANDOM SAMPLE OF CHILDREN

We examined the relationship of nasal disorders, defined as frequent colds and sinus trouble, to lower respiratory tract symptoms in a random population of 718 children aged 4 to 11 years in East Boston, Massachusetts. Frequent colds were significantly associated with maternal smoking (odds ratio (OR) 3.00; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.97,4.58), and so was sinus trouble (OR = 4.73; 95% CI = 1.78,12.51). After adjustment for maternal smoking, age and sex, frequent colds (OR = 2.88; 95% CI = 1.87,4.42) and sinus trouble (OR = 4.95, 95% CI = 1.83,13.39) remained significant predictors of lower respiratory tract symptoms in separate logistic regressions. If one restricted the cohort to the 513 children who also had personal smoking information and adjusted for this variable as well, the results for colds were unchanged (OR = 2.94; 95% CI = 1.78,4.84) but the results for sinus trouble were now not statistically significant (OR = 2.30, 95% CI = 0.67,7.94). We conclude that nasal disorders are associated with lower respiratory tract symptoms in children.