RESULTS
Data from a total of 633 surveys were included in the analysis (valid rate 61.5%) (Figure 1). Participants were 633 primary caregivers. Of these, 52.4% were parents of boys, and 35.2% had children with physician-diagnosed atopic dermatitis (11.7%), food allergy (9.6%), asthma (10.7%), rhinoconjunctivitis (12.8%), and hay fever (8.7%). A total of 221 children had general behavioral problems as measured by the total difficulties score; 187(29.5%) had conduct problems, 148(23.4%) had hyperactivity, 113(17.9%) had emotional problems, and 171(27.0%) had peer problems. Participant characteristics and their SDQ scores are presented in Table 1.
In crude logistic regression models, a higher risk of conduct problems was observed among children with history of wheezing than among those without (OR= 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-2.16). A similar association was observed between nose symptoms and conduct problems, indicating a higher risk of conduct problems among children with nose symptoms than among those without (OR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.16-2.33). Additional associations were observed between history of wheezing and peer problems (OR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.38-0.91), that of rash and hyperactivity (OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.02-2.57), and that of nose symptoms and emotional problems (OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.06-2.45) (Table 2).
Adjusted ORs indicated that only history of wheezing (adjusted OR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.04-2.75) and nose symptoms (adjusted OR=1.56, 95% CI: 1.05-2.34) affected the risk of conduct problems. No other associations between childhood allergic symptoms and behavioral problems were detected after adjusting for propensity scores.