The impact of selected behavioural and environmental factors on the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in Polish children

Introduction
To identify environmental and clinical factors and parental behaviours that are likely to affect the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection in the paediatric population.

Material and methods
This questionnaire-based, observational study was conducted among children < 10 years of age without chronic respiratory diseases, who sought medical assistance from a primary care paediatrician for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs).

Results
A group of 4389 children were enrolled in this study. The mean age of the children participating in the study was 4.9 years. The study group included 2108 (48.0%) girls and 2281 (52.0%) boys, with no statistically significant difference between the genders in terms of age. The mean number of infections was significantly higher in children who had siblings, confirmed atopy, exposure to tobacco smoke, and a lack of vaccination (p < 0.01) and those who attended nurseries compared to preschool and school children (p < 0.001). The mean number of episodes of infection in medium-sized and large cities was significantly higher than in small towns and villages (p < 0.01). The mean number of missed school days for children who stayed at home due to infection was 20 days. The presence of cigarette smokers in a household significantly increased the number of missed days in nurseries/kindergartens/schools due to infection (p < 0.01).

Conclusions
Selected behavioural and environmental factors significantly impact the incidence of URTIs in children. Those factors indirectly negatively affect employers and the economy because they substantially increase hospitalization rates and the number of days missed at work by the parents/legal guardians of children. Therefore, ongoing parental education about the role of vaccinations and the harmful effects of tobacco smoke on children is necessary.