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.