Background: Identify risk factors for asthma in adolescents from São Paulo, Brazil.
Methods: total of 528 adolescents (141 asthmatics, 387 control subjects) from the ISAAC study (phase III) were submitted to a complementary questionnaire to evaluate risk factors, through response to questions regarding personal history, environment, and diet and an agreement to undergo the skin prick test (SPT) for aeroallergens.
Results: Positive SPT to at least one allergen occurred in 49.4% adolescents. The risk factors for asthma were: prematurity (OR: 3.84, 95% CI: 1.54-9.64), rhinitis (OR: 3.18, 95% CI: 1.71-5.91), positivity in the SPT (OR: 2.81, 95% CI: 1.48-5.32), eczema in characteristic skin-folds (OR: 2.86, 95% CI: 1.13-7.26), and an allergic mother (OR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.02-3.93). The consumption of cooked vegetables was a protective factor for asthma (OR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.18-0.79)
Conclusions: Asthma is a multifatorial disease. An allergic mother, aeroallergen sensitization, rhinitis, eczema and prematurity were considered risk factors and the consumption of cooked vegetables was considered a protective factor for asthma in this population.