Respiratory illnesses in early life and asthma and atopy in childhood.

Background: The relation between respiratory illnesses in early life and the development of asthma and atopy in childhood is incompletely understood.

Objective: We sought to examine the relationship between respiratory illnesses in early life and atopic diseases at school age.

Methods: We performed a prospective birth cohort study of the relationship between respiratory illnesses in the first year of life and asthma, atopy (sensitization to >or=1 allergen), and allergic rhinitis at school age in 440 children with a parental history of atopy.

Sensitization to aeroallergens and airway hyperresponsiveness at 7 years of age.

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.

Mouse exposure and wheeze in the first year of life.

Background: Studies have found that exposure to mice is highly prevalent among children with asthma living in urban areas.

Objective: To examine the relationship between exposure to mice and wheeze in the first year of life.

Methods: We conducted an ongoing prospective birth cohort study of 498 children with a history of allergy or asthma in at least 1 parent living in metropolitan Boston (the Home Allergens and Asthma Study).

Polymorphisms in the 5' region of the CD14 gene are associated with eczema in young children.

Background: Variants in the CD14 gene (CD14) are hypothesized to be associated with atopic disorders. However, most studies have only investigated one polymorphism in this gene.

Objective: We sought to study the association of 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5' flanking region of CD14 with eczema and serum IgE levels in young children.

Variation in total and specific IgE: effects of ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Background: Asthma is common in minority and disadvantaged populations, whereas atopic disorders other than asthma appear to be less prevalent. It is unclear whether the same holds true for objective markers of sensitization.

Objective: To determine the association of asthma, atopic disorders, and specific sensitization with race and socioeconomic factors.

Predictors of disease severity in children with asthma in Hartford, Connecticut.

Childhood asthma is a major public health problem in the United States, particularly among minority populations. The aim of our study was to examine the relationship among ethnicity, allergen sensitization, spirometric measures, and asthma severity in children with mild to severe asthma who received their medical care in Hartford, Connecticut. Four hundred thirty-eight children aged 4-18 years who were enrolled in an asthma care program (Easy Breathing) in Hartford and who were referred for spirometry and allergy skin testing participated in this cross-sectional study.

Low-normal gestational age as a predictor of asthma at 6 years of age.

Background: Perinatal factors, including gestational age and birth weight, influence the development of atopy in early life. However, the role of these factors in the development of asthma in later life among children who do not develop perinatal respiratory disease remains unclear.

Methods: Four hundred fifty-four infants who had a history of allergy or asthma in at least 1 parent, were born in the 36th week of gestation or later, and did not develop perinatal respiratory distress were monitored for at least 6 years.

Endotoxin exposure and eczema in the first year of life.

Objective: Exposure to endotoxin in early life has been proposed as a factor that may protect against the development of allergic diseases such as eczema. The objective of this study was to examine the relation between endotoxin exposure in early life and eczema in the first year of life in children with parental history of asthma or allergies.

Methods: This study used a prospective birth cohort study of 498 children who had a history of allergy or asthma in at least 1 parent and lived in metropolitan Boston.

Ethnicity and skin test reactivity to aeroallergens among asthmatic children in Connecticut.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between ethnicity and sensitization to allergens among children with asthma living in urban and suburban areas of Connecticut.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Study Population: A total of 791 children with mild-to-severe asthma who received their medical care in the city of Hartford.

The relevance of maternal immune responses to inhalant allergens to maternal symptoms, passive transfer to the infant, and development of antibodies in the first 2 years of life.

Background: Asthma and other atopic diseases are strongly hereditary. Although the mother might play a special role, the mechanisms for such an effect are not clear.

Objective: We sought to investigate the influence of maternal immune responses to cat and mite allergens on (1) maternal symptoms, (2) the development of immune responses in the infant, and (3) the development of allergic disease during the first 3 years of life.

Day care attendance in early life, maternal history of asthma, and asthma at the age of 6 years.

Among children not selected on the basis of a parental history of atopy, day care attendance in early life is inversely associated with asthma at school age. We examined the relation between day care in the first year of life and asthma, recurrent wheezing, and eczema at the age of 6 years and wheezing in the first 6 years of life among 453 children with parental history of atopy followed from birth. Among all study participants, day care in the first year of life was inversely associated with eczema (odds ratio [OR] = 0.