We evaluated the relationship between indoor and outdoor swimming pool attendance and respiratory symptoms and infections during the first year of life. A population-based mother-child cohort study was conducted in four Spanish areas (INMA project). Study subjects were recruited at pregnancy, followed to delivery and 14 months after birth. Information on swimming pool attendance and health manifestations during the first year of life was collected at 14 months: low respiratory tract infection (LRTI), persistent cough, wheezing, atopic eczema and otitis. Odds ratios and 95 % confidence interval (OR 95 %CI) were calculated by logistic regression adjusting for confounders. Among the 2,205 babies included, 37 % reported having LRTI, 37 % wheezing, 16 % persistent cough, 22 % atopic eczema, 33 % otitis and 50 % attended swimming pools during the first year of life. Around 40 % went to outdoor pools in summer with a median cumulative duration of 7.5 h/year, and 20 % attended indoor pools with a median cumulative duration of 18 h/year. Pool attendance differed by area, season of birth and sociodemographic characteristics, and was not associated with LRTI, wheezing, persistent cough, atopic eczema or otitis. Adjusted OR of wheezing and LRTI were, respectively, 1.06 (95 %CI, 0.88-1.28) and 1.09 (0.90-1.31) for babies attending vs. babies not attending pools. Stratification by type of swimming pool, cumulative duration or parental atopy did not modify the results.
Conclusion: No association was detected between pool attendance and LRTI, wheezing, persistent cough, atopic eczema or otitis during the first year of life in Spain.