Asthma, Rhinitis, Other Respiratory DiseasesThe pattern of atopic sensitization is associated with the development of asthma in childhood☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Study population
The German MAS, a prospective birth cohort study, recruited 1314 newborns in 5 German cities during 1990. A detailed description of study subjects and methods is given elsewhere.2 Briefly, 499 newborns with risk factors for atopy (elevated cord blood IgE [≥0.9 kU/L], at least 2 atopic family members, or both) and 815 newborns with none of these risk factors were included in the study. The cohort children were followed up at the age of 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months and from then on yearly within 3
Response rates
Of the 1314 children in the MAS birth cohort, 1120 (85.2%) participated in the follow-up survey at age 1 year, and 939 (71.5%) children participated in the final follow-up survey at the age of 7 years (Fig 1). The participation rates for blood sampling and for bronchial challenge at age 7 years were slightly lower.
Children were compared with respect to the number of absolved follow-up visits on the basis of data collected at birth to assess potential participation bias. Children
Discussion
We observed that the sensitization pattern typically associated with asthma in childhood is best characterized by an early beginning of sensitization, as well as by the persistence of sensitization. However, only persistently sensitized children with a positive family history of asthma or atopy were at an increased risk of being asthmatic at the age of 7 years. This effect was strongest for a maternal history of asthma, indicating that an underlying factor pertaining to asthma and maternal
Acknowledgements
We thank all participants of the MAS for their cooperation. Furthermore, we thank the collaborators of the MAS group: Volker Wahn, MD, and Marketa Groeger, MD, Düsseldorf; Fred Zepp, MD, and Imke Bieber, MD, Mainz; Johannes Forster, MD, and Uta Tacke, MD, Freiburg; Carl-Peter Bauer, MD, Gaisach; Renate and Karl E. Bergmann, Berlin; nurse Petra Wagner, Berlin; nurse Gabriele Leskosek, Düsseldorf; nurse Roswitha Mayerl, Munich; nurse Brigitte Hampel, Mainz; and statistician Günter Edenharter.
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2022, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In PracticeCitation Excerpt :Also, a Danish longitudinal study investigating IgE sensitization to 22 food and aeroallergens in a cohort between age 6 months and 13 years found that multisensitization, increasing specific IgE levels, and persistent sensitization during childhood were associated with increased risk of asthma at age 13 years.33 Similarly, a German multicenter study showed an association between early sensitization and asthma at age 7 years.34 This is in accordance with the thesis that the conditions required for an “atopic march” from sensitization to persistent allergy symptoms are often set very early in life.35
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Collaborators of the Multicenter Allergy Study (MAS) group were as follows: Volker Wahn, MD, and Marketa Groeger, MD, Düsseldorf; Fred Zepp, MD, and Imke Bieber, MD, Mainz; Johannes Forster, MD, and Uta Tacke, MD, Freiburg; Carl-Peter Bauer, MD, Gaissach; and Renate Bergmann, Berlin.
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Supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Grant-No. 01GC9702/0 and an unrestricted educational grant by Aventis.
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The results of this study are part of the doctoral thesis of Sabina Illi.
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Reprint requests: Sabina Illi, MPH, Dr von Haunersches Kinderspital, Lindwurmstr. 4, 80337 Munich, Germany.