Respiratory impairment and systemic inflammation in cedar asthmatics removed from exposure.

Background: Prior research has shown that removing occupational asthmatics from exposure does not routinely lead to significant improvements in respiratory impairment. These studies were of limited duration and factors determining recovery remain obscure. Our objective was to evaluate residual respiratory impairment and associated sputum and blood biomarkers in subjects with Western red cedar asthma after exposure cessation.

Atopic dermatitis in a high-risk cohort: natural history, associated allergic outcomes, and risk factors.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is commonly associated with asthma and other atopic disorders in childhood.

Objective: To evaluate the natural history of AD and its association with other allergic outcomes in a high-risk cohort through the age of 7 years.

Methods: A total of 373 high-risk infants, who had undergone a randomized controlled trial with intervention measures for primary prevention of asthma applied during the first year of life, were assessed for asthma, AD, and allergic sensitization at 1, 2, and 7 years.

Cotinine versus questionnaire: early-life environmental tobacco smoke exposure and incident asthma.

Background: The use of biomarkers has expanded considerably, as an alternative to questionnaire-based metrics of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); few studies have assessed the affect of such alternative metrics on diverse respiratory outcomes in children, and we aimed to do so.

Methods: We evaluated various measures of birth-year ETS, in association with multiple respiratory endpoints early years of life, in the novel context of a birth cohort at high risk for asthma. We administered questionnaires to parents, both at the end of pregnancy and at one year of life, and measured cotinine in cord blood (CCot; in 275 children) and in urine (UCot; obtained at 12 months in 365 children), each by radioimmunoassay.

Occupational exposure influences on gender differences in respiratory health.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate gender differences in the respiratory health of workers exposed to organic and inorganic dusts.

Methods: Meta-analysis techniques incorporating logistic regression were applied to a combined file of 12 occupational health studies.

Results: Meta-analysis of data on 1,367 women and 4,240 men showed that women had higher odds of shortness of breath whether exposed to inorganic dust or having no occupational exposure, with an overall odds ratio (OR) of 2.

Congenital anomalies in the offspring of nurses: association with area of employment during pregnancy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether registered nurses in specific areas of employment during pregnancy had a higher risk for congenital anomalies in their offspring. An offspring cohort (n = 22,611) was created through linkage of the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency live and stillbirth records from 1986 to 2000, to a female cohort database of registered nurses. Of these, 16,005 (70.

Association between endotoxin and mite allergen exposure with asthma and specific sensitization at age 7 in high-risk children.

The role of endotoxin and house dust mite allergen (HDM) in allergen sensitization and asthma is unclear. The timeframe of exposure and asthma assessment appears critical. We aimed to determine, in children at 7 yr of age, the association between current exposure to endotoxin and HDM and risks of recurrent wheeze, paediatric allergist diagnosed asthma and allergen sensitization.

Airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine in 7-year-old children: sensitivity and specificity for pediatric allergist-diagnosed asthma.

Background: The operating characteristics of PC(20) values used as cut-offs to define airway hyperresponsiveness, as it informs the diagnosis of asthma in children, are poorly understood. We examine data from a unique cohort to inform this concern.

Objective: Determine the sensitivity and specificity of incremental PC(20) cut-offs for allergist-diagnosed asthma.

Traffic-related air pollution and incident asthma in a high-risk birth cohort.

Objectives: The risk of incident asthma and bronchial hyper-reactivity associated with early life exposure to traffic-related air pollution has not been fully elucidated. We aimed to evaluate the hypothesis that the risk of new onset asthma is positively associated with early exposure to traffic-related air pollution in a well-characterised high-risk birth cohort.

Methods: Infants at high-risk for asthma were recruited for an intervention study.

Respiratory health of two cohorts of terminal grain elevator workers studied 30 years apart.

Introduction: We evaluated the respiratory health of two cohorts of grain terminal elevator workers who participated in one of either respiratory health surveys undertaken in 1978 and 2008.

Methods: Questionnaire and spirometry data from 584 workers from the 1978 survey and 215 workers from the 2008 survey were compared using logistic regression and general linear modeling.

Results: The geometric means of area samples of grain dust averaged 8.

Indoor allergen exposure, sensitization, and development of asthma in a high-risk birth cohort.

Contradictory findings have been observed for the association of house dust mite (HDM), cat, and dog allergen exposure with sensitization and asthma. We sought to determine the relationship between exposures to these allergens, at various points during early childhood, and specific sensitization and asthma at age 7 in a high-risk birth cohort. As part of a multi-faceted Canadian intervention program for the primary prevention of asthma in high-risk infants, children were assessed by pediatric allergists at age 7 for asthma and underwent allergy skin prick testing.

Elevated cord blood IgE is associated with recurrent wheeze and atopy at 7 yrs in a high risk cohort.

There is considerable interest in identifying children at high risk for developing atopic diseases for primary prevention. This study evaluates risk factors for detectable cord blood IgE and assesses CB-IgE in predicting asthma and other IgE-mediated allergic diseases in children at high risk because of family history. Cord blood was obtained as part of a randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of an intervention program in the primary prevention of IgE-mediated allergic diseases.

The Canadian Childhood Asthma Primary Prevention Study: outcomes at 7 years of age.

Background: Avoidance of any one of the individual risk factors associated with childhood asthma has not been successful in preventing its development.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention program for the primary prevention of asthma in high-risk infants at 7 years of age.

Methods: Five hundred forty-five high-risk infants with an immediate family history of asthma and allergies were prospectively randomized into intervention or control groups prenatally.