TY - JOUR T1 - The risk for respiratory tract infections and antibiotic in a general population and among asthmatics JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00429-2021 SP - 00429-2021 AU - Marta A. Kisiel AU - Xingwu Zhou AU - Eythor Björnsson AU - Mathias Holm AU - Anna Dahlman-Höglund AU - Juan Wang AU - Cecilie Svanes AU - Dan Norbäck AU - Karl A. Franklin AU - Andrei Malinovschi AU - Ane Johannessen AU - Vivi Schlünssen AU - Christer Janson Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/early/2021/09/16/23120541.00429-2021.abstract N2 - Aim The aim of this study was to investigate occupational, environmental, early life, and other risk factors associated with respiratory infections and antibiotics use, in a general population and among asthmatics.Method This study included 15 842 participants of the RHINE study aged 25–54 years from five Nordic countries, who answered a questionnaire covering respiratory outcomes, exposures, demographic characteristics and numbers of infections and courses of antibiotics the last 12 months. Multiple logistic regression with and without adjustment for age, gender, smoking status, BMI and center were used to study the risk of infection and antibiotics in relation to asthma, and also the association between infection and antibiotics and occupations.Results In the whole population, 11.6% reported having three or more respiratory infections, and 14.7% had used antibiotics because of respiratory tract infections within the last year. Asthmatics reported a tripled odd for such infections (adjusted OR (95% CI) 2.98 (2.53–3.52) and antibiotics use (adjusted OR 3.67 (3.18–4.24) as compared to non-asthmatics. Both in the general and the asthmatic population, female gender, obesity and exposure to building dampness were associated with respiratory infections. Female gender, and current smoking and living in Tartu were associated with antibiotic use. The use of antibiotics was doubled in people hospitalised for severe respiratory infection in childhood.Conclusion In this study we identified several factors associated with increased respiratory infections and use of antibiotics in a general population and among asthmatics. The frequency of respiratory infections and subsequent antibiotic treatment were increased among asthmatics.FootnotesThis manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.Conflict of interest: Marta A. Kisiel has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Xingwu Zhou has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Eythor Björnsson has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Mathias Holm has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Anna Dahlman-Höglund has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Juan Wang has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Cecilie Svanes has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dan Norbäck has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Karl A. Franklin has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Andrei Malinovschi has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Ane Johannessen has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Vivi Schlünssen has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Christer Janson has nothing to disclose. ER -