The association between stressful life events and respiratory infections during the first 4 years of life: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young study

• Published in: Stress and health 2019-08, Vol.35 (3), p.289-303
• Main Authors: Roth, Roswith, Lynch, Kristian, Hyöty, Heikki, Lönnrot, Maria, Driscoll, Kimberly A., Bennett Johnson, Suzanne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adverse Childhood Experiences; Autoimmunity; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Demographics; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - etiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - immunology; Europe - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Infant; Infections; Islets of Langerhans - immunology; Longitudinal Studies; longitudinal study; Male; Mothers; Multivariate Analysis; negative life events; Pediatrics; Prospective Studies; Regression Analysis; Respiration; respiratory childhood infections; Respiratory tract infection; Respiratory Tract Infections - epidemiology; Respiratory Tract Infections - immunology; Risk Factors; Stress; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; type 1 diabetes; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1532-3005; 1532-2998
• DOI: 10.1002/smi.2861

The aim of this study was to conduct a prospective analysis of the association between negative life events (NLEs) and respiratory infections in children genetically at risk for islet autoimmunity (IA) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Long‐ and short‐term temporal associations between NLEs and rate of respiratory infection episodes (RIEs) in 5,618 children in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young study for at least 1 up to 4 years were analysed. All models were adjusted for demographic, day care, season of infection, and psychosocial factors associated with the rate of child RIEs between study visits. The rate of child RIEs was 26% higher in Europe (Sweden, Finland, Germany) than in the United States (rate ratio [RR] = 1.26, p