OBJECTIVE A long-standing hypothesis is that a low ratio of airway caliber to lung size is associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). The aim of our study was to measure the association between airway caliber relative to lung size (expressed as the ratio between forced expiratory flow, midexpiratory phase, divided by forced vital capacity [FEF(25%-75%)/FVC]) and BHR measured by a meth...

The active aerosol component of nebulizers is less than 100% of output by weight, and may vary between nebulizers in different batches from the same manufacturer. A measure of bronchial responsiveness to methacholine, which can overcome this problem, is required. One hundred and sixty nebulizers from 21 centres in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) were calibrated for aero...

BACKGROUND The Eosinophil Cationic Protein (ECP) is a potent multifunctional protein. Three common polymorphisms are present in the ECP gene, which determine the function and production of the protein. The aim was to study the relationship of these ECP gene polymorphisms to signs and symptoms of allergy and asthma in a community based cohort (The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (EC...

It has been postulated that the prevalence of atopic diseases and their increase over time are associated with regional differences in diet and trends. The results of an ecological correlation study comparing the mean daily intake of selected dietary constituents and the prevalence of allergic sensitization in adults in Europe is presented. Prevalence data from the European Community Respirator...

BACKGROUND Interleukin (IL) 4 plays a critical role in immune responses by acting as a growth factor for type 2 helper T cells and inducing immunoglobulin (Ig) class switching to IgE. Epidemiological evidence of the relationship between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL4 and asthma is inconsistent. OBJECTIVES We examined the association between the IL4 SNPs rs2243250, rs2070874, rs...