Background: The increase in allergic diseases in children has coincided with the westernization of lifestyles. Although clustering of modifiable lifestyles has been frequently reported in children, there is limited research on how lifestyle factors collectively contribute to allergic conditions. Our aim was to identify lifestyle clusters among Finnish school-aged children and explore their associations with the prevalence of allergic disease symptoms and sensitization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe dataset presents a 43 year-long reanalysis of pollen seasons for three major allergenic genera of trees in Europe: alder (Alnus), birch (Betula), and olive (Olea). Driven by the meteorological reanalysis ERA5, the atmospheric composition model SILAM predicted the flowering period and calculated the Europe-wide dispersion pattern of pollen for the years 1980-2022. The model applied an extended 4-dimensional variational data assimilation of in-situ observations of aerobiological networks in 34 European countries to reproduce the inter-annual variability and trends of pollen production and distribution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsthma is a common chronic disease in children. It is a dynamic condition-symptoms change over time, and the outcome of diagnostic tests can vary. Consequently, evaluating the onset of asthma at a single point in time, perhaps when patients are asymptomatic with limited impairment of the lung function, may result in false diagnostic conclusions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The combination of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting β-agonist (LABA) (ICS/LABA) has shown superiority in improving lung function (FEV) compared with an ICS alone. The clinical effect of a ICS/LABA combination depends on the fine-particle fraction and the pulmonary deposition.
Objective: We sought to compare the efficacy of 2 combinations of an ICS and LABA, namely, fluticasone propionate (FP) and formoterol (FORM) (FP/FORM) and fluticasone furoate (FF) and vilanterol (VI) (FF/VI), in asthmatic adolescents with chronic bronchial obstruction.
Rationale: It is unclear how each individual asthma symptom is associated with asthma diagnosis or control.
Objectives: To assess the performance of individual asthma symptoms in the identification of patients with asthma and their association with asthma control.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we assessed real-world data using the MASK-air app.
Monitoring is a major component of asthma management in children. Regular monitoring allows for diagnosis confirmation, treatment optimization, and natural history review. Numerous factors that may affect disease activity and patient well-being need to be monitored: response and adherence to treatment, disease control, disease progression, comorbidities, quality of life, medication side-effects, allergen and irritant exposures, diet and more.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nose and paranasal sinuses lasting ≥12 weeks. CRS may exist with (CRSwNP) or without (CRSsNP) nasal polyps. The aim was to evaluate conditions associated with CRS in a randomized hospital cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In allergic rhinitis and asthma, adolescents and young adult patients are likely to differ from older patients. We compared adolescents, young adults and adults on symptoms, control levels, and medication adherence.
Methods: In a cross-sectional study (2015-2022), we assessed European users of the MASK-air mHealth app of three age groups: adolescents (13-18 years), young adults (18-26 years), and adults (>26 years).
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol
January 2024
Background: The role of early airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in the lung function of school-age children is currently unclear.
Objective: To conduct a prospective follow-up study of lung function in schoolchildren with a history of lower airway symptoms and AHR to methacholine in early childhood and to compare the findings to schoolchildren with no previous or current lung diseases. We also explored symptoms and markers of type 2 inflammation.
Aim: Examining health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is important to improve patient care. In this study, we translate and evaluate the Finnish versions of the Food Allergy Specific Quality of Life Questionnaires (FAQLQs) from a Finnish perspective and undertake a detailed evaluation of the 10-question Parent Form Questionnaire (FAQLQ-PF10).
Methods: This validation study was performed to evaluate the Finnish versions of the FAQLQs.
Background: Difficulties in recovery persisting for months have been reported in patients with severe COVID-19. Our aim was to investigate respiratory and overall recovery one year after hospital discharge.
Methods: Finnish patients hospitalised due to COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic were recruited to a survey of symptoms, quality of life (RAND-36), work status, and health care use one year after hospital discharge.
Early-onset, persistent atopic dermatitis (AD) is proposed as a distinct subgroup that may have specific genotypic features. gene loss-of-function variants are the best known genetic factors contributing to epidermal barrier impairment and eczema severity. In a cohort of 140 Finnish children with early-onset moderate-to-severe AD, we investigated the effect of coding variation in and 13 other genes with epidermal barrier or immune function through the use of targeted amplicon sequencing and genotyping.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince the discovery of immunoglobulin E (IgE) as a mediator of allergic diseases in 1967, our knowledge about the immunological mechanisms of IgE-mediated allergies has remarkably increased. In addition to understanding the immune response and clinical symptoms, allergy diagnosis and management depend strongly on the precise identification of the elicitors of the IgE-mediated allergic reaction. In the past four decades, innovations in bioscience and technology have facilitated the identification and production of well-defined, highly pure molecules for component-resolved diagnosis (CRD), allowing a personalized diagnosis and management of the allergic disease for individual patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Allergy Asthma Immunol
August 2023
Background: The underlying mechanisms of an immediate food-induced allergic reaction involve mast cell degranulation and recruitment of other effector cells, such as lymphocytes, eosinophils, and basophils. How the interaction of various mediators and cells results in anaphylaxis is not fully understood.
Objective: To evaluate changes in platelet-activating factor (PAF), platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH), tryptase, eosinophils, basophils, and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in cashew nut-induced anaphylaxis.
Biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients with rhinitis and/or asthma are urgently needed. Although some biologic biomarkers exist in specialist care for asthma, they cannot be largely used in primary care. There are no validated biomarkers in rhinitis or allergen immunotherapy (AIT) that can be used in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContact with natural environments enriches the human microbiome, promotes immune balance and protects against allergies and inflammatory disorders. In Finland, the allergy & asthma epidemic became slowly visible in mid 1960s. After the World War II, Karelia was split into Finnish and Soviet Union (now Russia) territories.
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