National joint project: Asthma and allergies in childhood and adolescence (German ISAAC Phase II study)
| Project leader | Stephan Weiland † |
| Co-operation | Thomas Hirsch (Department of Paediatrics, TH Dresden), Wolfgang Leupold (Department of Paediatrics, TH Dresden), Christian Fritzsch (Department of Paediatrics, Leipzig University), Ulrich Keil (Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster), Erika von Mutius (Dr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, LMU Munich), Bernd Seifert (Federal Environment Agency Berlin) |
| Project funding | Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) |
| Duration | completed |
| Departmental tasks | Option for analyses |
| Memployees | Gudrun Weinmayr |
The national joint project is integrated into the worldwide ISAAC project (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood). It is a multi-centre project involving the Clinic for Paediatrics in Dresden, the Clinic for Paediatrics in Leipzig, the Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital in Munich and the Federal Environment Agency in Berlin. The Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Münster is the coordination and data centre for the clinical centres involved in the joint project.
The aim of the study is to collect nationally and internationally comparable data on the frequency of asthma, allergic rhinitis and neurodermatitis in children and to gain new insights into the causes of these diseases.
Data collection began in September 1995 and was completed in July 1997. Cross-sectional studies were carried out in two East German areas (Dresden, Leipzig) and one West German urban area (Munich) during the 1995/1996 school year. Approximately 3,000 fourth-graders and 3,000 first-graders were analysed at each study site.
Parental questionnaires and medical examinations of the children (measurement of lung function with bronchial provocation, skin prick test, determination of immunological blood parameters, etc.) were used as data collection instruments.
As part of a subsequent, embedded case-control study on the aetiology of bronchial asthma, the parents of 300 children each in Dresden and Munich were interviewed and the exposure to allergens and pollutants in the children's homes was measured. Funding by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) ended in February 1999 and further analyses of the extensive data set are currently being carried out and prepared for publication.