Food allergy, dermatologic diseases, and anaphylaxisUse of acetaminophen and the risk of self-reported allergic symptoms and skin sensitization in Butajira, Ethiopia
Section snippets
Methods
The Butajira Rural Health Project is a dynamic cohort with an established data collection system covering more than 40,000 people living in 10 administrative areas (1 urban, 9 rural) of Meskan and Mareko district, 130 km southwest of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The source population, initial sampling procedure, and basic population characteristics of this cohort have been described in detail elsewhere.12
As part of an investigation into the relationship among wheeze, asthma, and parasite infection,
Results
Questionnaire and skin test data were obtained from 7649 (3485 urban and 4164 rural) individuals. The urban participants were 2679 of the original sample of 4300, and 806 substitutions for individuals who had left the area, giving a net response of 81%. The response in the rural area was 91%. The median age of participants was 20 (range, 5-95 years), and 3252 (42.5%) participants were male. A full description of the demographics of participants and comparison with source population is reported
Discussion
This study has demonstrated significant and consistent dose-related associations between acetaminophen use and reported symptoms of asthma, eczema, rhinitis, and 1 of 2 common local environmental allergens tested for skin sensitization. The study also demonstrates that these findings do not arise from use of acetaminophen to treat symptoms of allergic disease, from systematic avoidance of aspirin by individuals with allergic symptoms, or from use of acetaminophen to treat symptoms arising as
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Cited by (60)
Epidemiology and management of asthma and atopic dermatitis in Sub-Saharan Africa
2021, Journal of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyCitation Excerpt :The same group reported that intestinal parasite infection was not associated with AD in a similar rural pediatric population in Ethiopia.12 Furthermore, a number of studies have reported a direct association between frequent acetaminophen or paracetamol use early in life and new-onset wheeze, asthma, and allergy in Ethiopia.13–16 In Kenya, urban children showed a strong correlation between asthma and atopy; however, the same correlation was not found in rural children, who did not test positive for allergens by means of skin prick testing.17
Acetaminophen and the Developing Lung: Could There Be Lifelong Consequences?
2021, Journal of PediatricsAdherence rates during a randomized controlled trial evaluating the use of blinded acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
2021, Contemporary Clinical TrialsParacetamol and the development of a food allergy. A clinical case
2018, Revue Francaise d'AllergologiePrenatal and infant exposure to acetaminophen and ibuprofen and the risk for wheeze and asthma in children
2015, Journal of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyAcetaminophen and asthma
2013, Paediatric Respiratory ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Another suggestion is that aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may have a beneficial effect59 in asthma and it is avoidance of these rather than exposure to acetaminophen that explains the association of the latter with asthma. This was rejected as an explanation in a rural Ethiopian study showing strong evidence of an acetaminophen link with asthma but where aspirin-avoidance was prevalent in less than 1% of the population studied and NSAIDs were generally unavailable.14 Similarly, in the original study in adults by Shaheen et al, a strong effect of acetaminophen was observed in individuals who reported taking acetaminophen and aspirin, and were therefore not avoiding the latter.12
Supported by Asthma UK, grant number 02/058.