A critical analysis of the effect of OM-85 for the prevention of recurrent respiratory tract infections or wheezing/asthma from systematic reviews with meta-analysis.

Acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are one of the most common causes of pediatric consultations/hospitalizations and a major trigger for asthma exacerbations. Some consensus statements have recommended the use of immunostimulants to boost natural defenses against severe or repeated infections. One of the most common immunostimulants is OM-85; while several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have evaluated its efficacy in preventing acute RTIs and wheezing/asthma exacerbations, results have been conflicting.

The association of infant urinary adrenal steroids with the risk of childhood asthma development.

Background: Adrenal steroids play important roles in early-life development. However, our understanding of the effects of perinatal adrenal steroids on the development of childhood asthma is incomplete.

Objective: To evaluate the associations between early-life adrenal steroid levels and childhood asthma.

Multi-Omics Analysis of Lung Tissue Demonstrates Changes to Lipid Metabolism during Allergic Sensitization in Mice.

Allergy and asthma pathogenesis are associated with the dysregulation of metabolic pathways. To understand the effects of allergen sensitization on metabolic pathways, we conducted a multi-omics study using BALB/cJ mice sensitized to house dust mite (HDM) extract or saline. Lung tissue was used to perform untargeted metabolomics and transcriptomics while both lung tissue and plasma were used for targeted lipidomics.

Black Mothers in Racially Segregated Neighborhoods Embodying Structural Violence: PTSD and Depressive Symptoms on the South Side of Chicago.

This study employs multi-level and mixed-methods approaches to examine how structural violence affects the health of low-income, single Black mothers. We use multilevel regression models to examine how feeling "trapped" in racially segregated neighborhoods with high levels of violence on the South Side of Chicago affects mothers' (N = 69) reports of posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms. The relationship between feeling "trapped" and variations in expression of mRNA for the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 using microarray assays was also examined.

Association of citrulline concentration at birth with lower respiratory tract infection in infancy: Findings from a multi-site birth cohort study.

Assessing the association of the newborn metabolic state with severity of subsequent respiratory tract infection may provide important insights on infection pathogenesis. In this multi-site birth cohort study, we identified newborn metabolites associated with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in the first year of life in a discovery cohort and assessed for replication in two independent cohorts. Increased citrulline concentration was associated with decreased odds of LRTI (discovery cohort: aOR 0.

Cardiometabolic Pregnancy Complications in Association With Autism-Related Traits as Measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in ECHO.

Prior work has examined associations between cardiometabolic pregnancy complications and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but not how these complications may relate to social communication traits more broadly. We addressed this question within the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes program, with 6,778 participants from 40 cohorts conducted from 1998-2021 with information on ASD-related traits via the Social Responsiveness Scale. Four metabolic pregnancy complications were examined individually, and combined, in association with Social Responsiveness Scale scores, using crude and adjusted linear regression as well as quantile regression analyses.

Association between asthma status and prenatal antibiotic prescription fills among women in a Medicaid population.

Objective: Pregnant women with asthma have increased frequency of respiratory viral infections and exacerbations. Because of these risks, women with asthma may be subject to increased surveillance during pregnancy and may, therefore, be at increased risk of antibiotic receipt. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between maternal asthma and outpatient prenatal antibiotic prescription fills to inform antibiotic stewardship.

Upper respiratory tract bacterial-immune interactions during respiratory syncytial virus infection in infancy.

Background: The risk factors determining short- and long-term morbidity following acute respiratory infection (ARI) due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infancy remain poorly understood.

Objectives: Our aim was to examine the associations of the upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiome during RSV ARI in infancy with the acute local immune response and short- and long-term clinical outcomes.

Methods: We characterized the URT microbiome by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing and assessed the acute local immune response by measuring 53 immune mediators with high-throughput immunoassays in 357 RSV-infected infants.

Transcriptomic analyses of black women in neighborhoods with high levels of violence.

Chronic stress threatens an individual's capacity to maintain psychological and physiological homeostasis, but the molecular processes underlying the biological embedding of these experiences are not well understood. This is particularly true for marginalized groups, presenting a fundamental challenge to decreasing racial, economic, and gender-based health disparities. Physical and social environments influence genome function, including the transcriptional activity of core stress responsive genes.

Unconjugated bilirubin is associated with protection from early-life wheeze and childhood asthma.

Background: Wheeze and allergic sensitization are the strongest early-life predictors of childhood asthma development; the molecular origins of these early-life phenotypes are poorly understood.

Objectives: We sought to identify metabolites associated with early-life wheeze, allergic sensitization, and childhood asthma.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study using Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program cohorts for discovery and independent replication.

Dose, Timing, and Spectrum of Prenatal Antibiotic Exposure and Risk of Childhood Asthma.

Background: The potential for prenatal antibiotic exposure to influence asthma risk is not clear. We aimed to determine the effect of timing, dose, and spectrum of prenatal antibiotic exposure on the risk of childhood asthma.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of 84 214 mother-child dyads to examine the association of prenatal antibiotic exposure and childhood asthma using multivariable logistic regression models.

Involving Urban Single Low-Income African American Mothers in Genomic Research: Giving Voice to How Place Matters in Health Disparities and Prevention Strategies.

This article describes the process of using principles from community-based participatory action research to involve low-income, single, African American mothers on the south side of Chicago in genomic research, including as citizen scientists. The South Chicago Black Mothers' Resiliency Project used a mixed methods design to investigate how the stress of living in neighborhoods with high levels of violence affects mothers' mental and physical health. This article seeks to serve as a model for physicians and scholars interested in successfully involving low-income African American mothers in genomic research, and other health-related activities in ways that are culturally sensitive and transformative.

Infant Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis and Subsequent Risk of Pneumonia, Otitis Media, and Antibiotic Utilization.

Infant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis in the first 6 months of life was associated with increased odds of pneumonia, otitis media, and antibiotic prescription fills in the second 6 months of life. These data suggest a potential value of future RSV vaccination programs on subsequent respiratory health.

The current state of omics technologies in the clinical management of asthma and allergic diseases.

Objective: To review the state of omics science specific to asthma and allergic diseases and discuss the current and potential applicability of omics in clinical disease prediction, treatment, and management.

Data Sources: Studies and reviews focused on the use of omics technologies in asthma and allergic disease research and clinical management were identified using PubMed.

Study Selections: Publications were included based on relevance, with emphasis placed on the most recent findings.

Dose, Timing, and Type of Infant Antibiotic Use and the Risk of Childhood Asthma.

Background: Aspects of infant antibiotic exposure and its association with asthma development have been variably explored. We aimed to evaluate comprehensively and simultaneously the impact of dose, timing, and type of infant antibiotic use on the risk of childhood asthma.

Methods: Singleton, term-birth, non-low-birth-weight, and otherwise healthy children enrolled in the Tennessee Medicaid Program were included.

Using urine metabolomics to understand the pathogenesis of infant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and its role in childhood wheezing.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infants causes significant morbidity and is the strongest risk factor associated with asthma. Metabolites, which reflect the interactions between host cell and virus, provide an opportunity to identify the pathways that underlie severe infections and asthma development.

Objective: To study metabolic profile differences between infants with RSV infection, and human rhinovirus (HRV) infection, and healthy infants.

Prevalence of infant bronchiolitis-coded healthcare encounters attributable to RSV.

Aim: We sought to determine the proportion of bronchiolitis episodes attributable to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among ICD-9 coded infant bronchiolitis episodes which were tested for RSV.

Methods: Bronchiolitis healthcare encounters were extracted from Kaiser Permanente Northern California databases for years 2006 to 2009. We used ICD-9 codes for bronchiolitis to capture bronchiolitis-related healthcare encounters including hospital admissions (Hospitalization), emergency department visits (EDV), and outpatient visits (OPV).

Sex-specific association between prenatal life stress exposure and infant pro-inflammatory cytokine levels during acute respiratory infection.

Background: Prenatal life stress exposure is linked to dysregulated immune function and chronic inflammatory disease in offspring, but we know little about its effects on infant immune response during viral infection.

Method: To address this issue, we examined associations between prenatal life stress exposure and infant upper-airway inflammatory markers during acute respiratory infection (ARI) using data from a prospective, population-based birth-cohort study (N = 180). Infant inflammation was measured as a continuous latent factor within a structural equation modeling framework using nasal wash concentrations of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α.

Delineation of the Individual Effects of Vitamin E Isoforms on Early Life Incident Wheezing.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that maternal plasma alpha-tocopherol levels are associated with protection from childhood wheeze and that this protection is modified by gamma-tocopherol.

Study Design: We conducted a prospective nested study in the Infant Susceptibility to Pulmonary Infections and Asthma Following Respiratory Syncytial Virus Exposure birth cohort of 652 children with postpartum maternal plasma vitamin E isoforms used as a surrogate for pregnancy concentrations. Our outcomes were wheezing and recurrent wheezing over a 2-year period, ascertained using validated questionnaires.

Association of newborn screening metabolites with risk of wheezing in childhood.

Background: There are critical gaps in our understanding of the temporal relationships between metabolites and subsequent asthma development. This is the first study to examine metabolites from newborn screening in the etiology of early childhood wheezing.

Methods: One thousand nine hundred and fifty one infants enrolled between 2012 and 2014 from pediatric practices located in Middle Tennessee in the population-based birth cohort study, the Infant Susceptibility to Pulmonary Infections and Asthma Following RSV Exposure Study (INSPIRE), were linked with metabolite data from the Tennessee Newborn Screening Program.