HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Article Archive Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by TePas, E. C. Articles by Gold, D. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by TePas, E. C. Articles by Gold, D. R.

Sensitization to Aeroallergens and Airway Hyperresponsiveness at 7 Years of Age^*

^* From the Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA.

Correspondence to: Elizabeth C. TePas, MD, MS, Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 181 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115; e-mail: etepas{at}partners.org

Abstract

Study objectives: To investigate the relationship between current and early life factors and airway responsiveness to inhaled methacholine in children with a median age of 7.0 years.

Participants: Study subjects were a subset of a prospective birth cohort of children in the Boston area at high risk for atopy.

Methods: One hundred thirty-one children underwent both skin-prick testing to a panel of aeroallergens and a methacholine challenge test between 6.5 years and 8.8 years of age. Telephone questionnaires were performed at set intervals, and home dust samples were collected in the first year of life.

Results: Of the 131 participating children, 51% (67 patients) had at least one positive skin-prick test response and 28% (37 patients) had airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) [provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV₁ of < 4 mg/mL]. After adjusting for relevant covariates, AHR was strongly associated with sensitization to at least four aeroallergens (odds ratio [OR], 13.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.03 to 59.42). In separate adjusted models, sensitization to cat (OR, 14.73; 95% CI, 3.64 to 59.55), dust mite (OR, 5.13; 95% CI, 1.94 to 13.56), cockroach (OR, 4.00; 95% CI, 1.19 to 13.50), and ragweed (OR, 10.08; 95% CI, 2.31 to 44.10) were significant predictors of AHR. However, no relationship was found with early life exposure to perennial aeroallergens or other perinatal and first-year-of-life factors.

Conclusions: Among young children at risk for atopy, sensitization to specific aeroallergens, but not early life exposures, is associated with increased airway responsiveness.

Key Words: asthma • atopy • bronchial provocation tests • child • cohort studies • immediate hypersensitivity

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. P. Ly, M. E. Soto-Quiros, L. Avila, G. M. Hunninghake, B. A. Raby, D. Laskey, J. S. Sylvia, and J. C. Celedon Paternal Asthma, Mold Exposure, and Increased Airway Responsiveness Among Children With Asthma in Costa Rica Chest, January 1, 2008; 133(1): 107 - 114. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]