Nonelective cesarean section is associated with the prevalence of asthma among Mexican children who attended childcare centers

TL;DR

Children born via nonelective cesarean section are more likely to develop asthma compared to those born vaginally or via elective cesarean.

Contribution

This study identifies nonelective cesarean section as a risk factor for asthma in children attending childcare centers.

Findings

Nonelective cesarean section was associated with a 3.51 times higher odds of asthma prevalence.

Asthma prevalence was 4.8% among the studied children.

Vaginal delivery was the least common mode of delivery at 34.1%.

Abstract

The cesarean section (CS) mode of delivery can influence the prevalence of bronchial asthma (BA), allergic rhinitis (AR), or atopic dermatitis (AD) by promoting modifications in the infantile microbiome.

To analyze the prevalence of asthma in children who were born through CS and attended childcare centers.

The data were obtained through an online survey that was answered anonymously by one of the parents; the survey inquired about the route of delivery of the child and the prevalence of BA, AR, and AD.

A total of 525 children were included. The frequency of births by vaginal, elective CS, or nonelective CS was 34.1%, 37.9%, and 28.0%, respectively, and the prevalence of BA, AR, and AD was 4.8%, 19.8%, and 12.4%, respectively. Multivariate analyses identified nonelective CS as a factor associated with the prevalence of BA (odds ratio: 3.51, P = 0.026).

Our study shows that being born through nonelective CS can increase the probability of BA in children who attended daycare centers.