Editors' choiceCigarette smoking and allergic sensitization: A 32-year population-based cohort study
Section snippets
Methods
The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study is described in detail elsewhere.27 Briefly, this is a longitudinal study of an unselected birth cohort of 1037 individuals (52% male) born in Dunedin in 1972 or 1973. The cohort represents the full range of socioeconomic status in New Zealand's South Island, and study members are mostly of New Zealand/European ethnicity. A broad range of health, behavioral, and developmental assessments has been conducted at birth and ages 3, 5, 7, 9,
Results
At age 13 years, 196 of 375 (52%) male study members and 132 of 349 (38%) female study members were atopic on SPTs (P < .001). At age 32 years, there was no sex difference in prevalence when 292 of 479 (61%) men and 268 of 467 (57%) women were atopic (P = .26).
Only 7 study members (1%) were daily smokers at age 13 years, whereas 32 (4%) smoked at least weekly. Those who were atopic at age 13 years were more likely to smoke at least weekly (5.8%) compared with those who were not atopic (3.3%),
Discussion
In this general population sample followed from birth to 32 years, we found that children who were exposed to parental smoking and those who took up cigarette smoking themselves had a lower incidence of atopy to a range of common inhaled allergens. These associations were found only in those with a parental history of asthma or hay fever. The findings support the hypothesis that the immune-suppressant effects of cigarette smoke may reduce the risk of allergic sensitization. By contrast, there
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The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the Health Research Council of New Zealand. M.R.S. holds the AstraZeneca Chair in Respiratory Epidemiology at McMaster University.
Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: The authors have declared that they have no conflict of interest.