Bronchial asthma and Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in children aged 4-8 years in Olomouc district.

BACKGROUND Although several studies have demonstrated an association between infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and asthma, these were mainly limited to exacerbation of symptoms in adults with known asthma OBJECTIVE We investigated the role of C. pneumoniae infection in 149 atopic children with chronic cough and asthma, comparing them with 241 control non-atopic subjects presenting at Olomouc hospital between 1999 and 2003 with non-specific symptoms (temperature above normal (subfebrile), abdominal pain, arthralgia, and other symptoms. METHODS The levels of C. pneumoniae-specific antibodies were measured using Chlamydien-rELISA kits (Medac, Hamburg, Germany). RESULTS In a group of 83 atopic children with chronic cough, IgM and IgG antibodies to C. pneumoniae were demonstrated in 20 children (24 %). Among children with bronchial asthma, positive antibody was present in 29 children (44 %; /p = 0,052/); of this number, 24 (36 %; /p = 0,06/) had IgM and IgG antibodies while 5 children (8 %) had IgA and IgG antibodies against C. pneumoniae. A group of non-atopic children with non-specific symptoms included 38 children (16 %) with antibody positivity; 27 children (11 %) with IgM and IgG antibodies and 11 children (5 %) with IgA and IgG antibodies against C. pneumoniae. CONCLUSIONS Asthma in children was associated with elevated levels of IgM and IgG antibodies to C. pneumoniae.