Exposure to environmental microorganisms and childhood asthma.

نویسندگان

  • Markus J Ege
  • Melanie Mayer
  • Anne-Cécile Normand
  • Jon Genuneit
  • William O C M Cookson
  • Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer
  • Dick Heederik
  • Renaud Piarroux
  • Erika von Mutius
چکیده

BACKGROUND Children who grow up in environments that afford them a wide range of microbial exposures, such as traditional farms, are protected from childhood asthma and atopy. In previous studies, markers of microbial exposure have been inversely related to these conditions. METHODS In two cross-sectional studies, we compared children living on farms with those in a reference group with respect to the prevalence of asthma and atopy and to the diversity of microbial exposure. In one study--PARSIFAL (Prevention of Allergy-Risk Factors for Sensitization in Children Related to Farming and Anthroposophic Lifestyle)--samples of mattress dust were screened for bacterial DNA with the use of single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses to detect environmental bacteria that cannot be measured by means of culture techniques. In the other study--GABRIELA (Multidisciplinary Study to Identify the Genetic and Environmental Causes of Asthma in the European Community [GABRIEL] Advanced Study)--samples of settled dust from children's rooms were evaluated for bacterial and fungal taxa with the use of culture techniques. RESULTS In both studies, children who lived on farms had lower prevalences of asthma and atopy and were exposed to a greater variety of environmental microorganisms than the children in the reference group. In turn, diversity of microbial exposure was inversely related to the risk of asthma (odds ratio for PARSIFAL, 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44 to 0.89; odds ratio for GABRIELA, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99). In addition, the presence of certain more circumscribed exposures was also inversely related to the risk of asthma; this included exposure to species in the fungal taxon eurotium (adjusted odds ratio, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.76) and to a variety of bacterial species, including Listeria monocytogenes, bacillus species, corynebacterium species, and others (adjusted odds ratio, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.86). CONCLUSIONS Children living on farms were exposed to a wider range of microbes than were children in the reference group, and this exposure explains a substantial fraction of the inverse relation between asthma and growing up on a farm. (Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the European Commission.).

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

The Effect of Maternal Age on Childhood Asthma

Some studies indicate that children born to younger mothers are at a higher risk of wheezing and asthma.  To investigate the maternal age associated with asthma in children, a case-control study on 310 asthmatic and 310 non-asthmatic children aged 3 to 4 years was organized during a one-year period.  A questionnaire was used to obtain information about the child’s personal susceptibility factor...

متن کامل

Correlation between cigarette smoke exposure and prevalence of asthma and allergy symptoms in children, Yazd

Introduction: Cigarette smoke is one of the most prevalent pollutants. Regarding the development of lungs and immune system at early stages of life, exposure to these substances can have adverse effects in this period. It seems that tobacco smoke is not an etiology for wheezing attacks burden, instead, it is an exacerbating factor. This survey was designed to determine the relation of environme...

متن کامل

Airborne cultivable microflora and microbial transfer in farm buildings and rural dwellings.

OBJECTIVES Exposure to environments rich in microorganisms such as farms has been shown to protect against the development of childhood asthma and allergies. However, it remains unclear where, and how, farm and other rural children are exposed to microbes. Furthermore, the composition of the microbial flora is poorly characterised. We tested the hypothesis that farm children are exposed indoors...

متن کامل

Childhood asthma and indoor allergens in Native Americans in New York

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to assess the correlation between childhood asthma and potential risk factors, especially exposure to indoor allergens, in a Native American population. METHODS A case-control study of St. Regis Mohawk tribe children ages 2-14 years, 25 diagnosed with asthma and 25 controls was conducted. Exposure was assessed based on a personal interview and measur...

متن کامل

Environmental exposures and respiratory outcomes in children.

Asthma is a complex condition where genetic and environmental interactions occur at critical periods in development. The focus of this review was the role of environmental exposures on asthma causation. Selected studies published in 2010 and 2011 were reviewed to illustrate the challenge in relating environmental exposure(s) on asthma causation and also to focus on some exposures currently thou...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • The New England journal of medicine

دوره 364 8  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2011