Sunday, 6 December 2015
Ivanka Trump Ballroom (Trump National Doral)
Ruchi S. Gupta, MD, MPH
,
Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Anne Marie Singh, MD
,
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Madeline M Walkner, BS
,
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Deanna Caruso, MS
,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Paul J Bryce, PhD
,
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Xiaobin Wang, MD, MPH
,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Bridget M. Smith, PhD
,
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Edward J. Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Spinal Cord Injury Queri, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Chicago, IL
Jacqueline a. Pongracic, MD
,
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Background: Childhood food allergy and asthma are increasing. Although the exact mechanism of this increase is not known, it has been hypothesized that hygiene factors including microbial exposures, maternal child health characteristics and pet exposure may play a role. This study compares the effect of multiple hygiene factors on the development of food allergy and asthma.
Method: Parents with at least one food-allergic child aged 0-21 years old were asked to complete a baseline survey detailing their child’s history of asthma, antibiotic use, infections, maternal child health characteristics, birth order, and pet exposure.
Results: Of the 1,359 children that participated in the study, 832 (61.2%) had food allergy and 406 (30%) had asthma. In the adjusted analysis, odds of food allergy were increased if there was a history of skin infection (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.35; 95% CI, 1.20 to 4.60) or eczema (AOR, 5.50; 95% CI, 4.21 to 7.18). Odds of asthma were increased with a history of respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV) (AOR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.75 to 3.74) or eczema (AOR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.47 to 2.61). Furthermore, a greater number of siblings was associated with decreased odds of both food allergy (AOR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.58) and asthma (AOR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.82).
Conclusion: Only the presence of eczema and fewer siblings were associated with increased odds of both food allergy and asthma. Skin infections were associated with food allergy while RSV was associated with asthma. Understanding the role of these factors may shed new light on early life risk factors for food allergy and asthma.
