Early exposure to bio-contaminants and asthma up to 10 years of age: results of the HITEA study

Christina Tischer, Lidia Casas, Inge M Wouters, Gert Doekes, Raquel Garcia-Esteban, Ulrike Gehring, Anne Hyvärinen, Marieke Oldenwening, Marjan Kerkhof, Jordi Sunyer, Marie Standl, Elisabeth Thiering, Maties Torrent, Joachim Heinrich, the HITEA study group

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    Inverse associations have been found between exposure to bio-contaminants and asthma and allergies. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess whether early exposure to bio-contaminants in dust is associated with asthma and allergy later in childhood among children from (sub)-urban areas. In subsets of three European birth cohorts (PIAMA: n = 553; INMA: n = 481; and LISAplus: n = 395), endotoxin, (1,3,)-β-d-glucan and extracellular polysaccharide were measured in dust from living rooms shortly after birth. Current asthma at 6 years and 10 years of age and ever asthma up to 10 years of age were assessed by parental questionnaires. Specific IgE levels at 8 years (PIAMA) and 10 years (LISAplus) were available. Adjusted, cohort-specific logistic regression analyses were performed. Higher endotoxin concentrations were positively associated with current asthma at 6 years of age in PIAMA (adjusted OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.07-3.58), but were inversely related with ever asthma up to 10 years of age in INMA (adjusted OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.16-0.94). No associations with asthma were found for LISAplus. No associations were observed with atopic sensitisation in all cohorts. All associations with (1,3)-β-d-glucan and extracellular polysaccharide were statistically nonsignificant. The suggested immunological mechanisms of early exposure to bio-contaminants with regards to asthma and allergy might be different for children growing up in (sub)-urban environments.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)328-337
    Number of pages10
    JournalEuropean Respiratory Journal
    Volume45
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2015

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