TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - Health risks of early swimming pool attendance
JO  - International journal of hygiene and environmental health
A1  - Schoefer, Yvonne
A1  - Zutavern, Anne
A1  - Brockow, Inken
A1  - Schäfer, Torsten
A1  - Kramer, U.
A1  - Schaaf, Beate
A1  - Herbarth, Olf
A1  - von Berg, Andrea
A1  - Wichmann, Heinz-Erich
A1  - Heinrich, Joachim
SP  - 367
EP  - 373
VL  - 211
IS  - 3-4
N2  - Swimming pool attendance and exposure to chlorination by-products showed adverse health effects on children. We assessed whether early swimming pool attendance, especially baby swimming, is related to higher rates of early infections and to the development of allergic diseases. In 2003-2005, 2192 children were analysed for the 6-year follow-up of a prospective birth cohort study. Data on early swimming pool attendance, other lifestyle factors and medical history were collected by parental-administered questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate associations. Babies who did not participate in baby swimming had lower rates of infection in the 1st year of life (i) diarrhoea: OR 0.68 CI 95% 0.54-0.85; (ii) otitis media: OR 0.81 CI 95% 0.62-1.05; (iii) airway infections: OR 0.85 CI 95% 0.67-1.09. No clear association could be found between late or non-swimmers and atopic dermatitis or hay fever until the age of 6 years, while higher rates of asthma were found (OR 2.15 95% CI 1.16-3.99), however, potentially due to reverse causation. The study indicates that, in terms of infections, baby swimming might not be as harmless as commonly thought. Further evidence is needed to make conclusions if the current regulations on chlorine in Germany might not protect swimming pool attendees from an increased risk of gastrointestinal infections. In terms of developing atopic diseases there is no verifiable detrimental effect of early swimming.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1438-4639
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2007.08.001
ID  - ref1
ER  -