An epidemiological study of atopy in children

Abstract

Summary A sample of 930 children, between 9 years and 15 years old from six Italian towns, were studied. Their family history of allergy, personal allergy and medical history, current allergy symptoms, exposure to environmental allergens, feeding as infants, and their parents’ occupations were recorded. They were skin‐prick tested (SPT) with a range of common allergens. A subject was defined as atopic if at least one SPT caused a weal greater than 3 mm diameter. The association between the recorded information and atopy was investigated by logistic multiple regression. Atopy was positively associated with: high density housing; medium or high exposure to environmental allergens; a history of rhinitis, asthma or atopic eczema; male gender; and a history of breast‐feeding. It was independent of infectious diseases, vaccinations and operations, social class and family history. Thus, there was no evidence of a genetic factor in atopy, other than sex.

Allergy and Mucosal Eosinophil Infiltrate in Ulcerative Colitis

“…Italian epidemiologic studies indicate that, in decreasing order, Dermatophagoides, pellitory, and grass mix are allergens that most frequently give positive reactions (35,41,44), as confirmed in our control group. This finding may be due to the very slight difference in the prevalence rate between pellitory and Dermatophagoides observed in our series, rather than to a particular hyperresponsiveness toward this pollen.…”

“…In fact, data on the prevalence of SPT or PT in our control population are in agreement with other observations in the same area or nationally. Recently, in 960 active farm workers of a district southeast of Naples we found a prevalence of atopy of 30.5% (data not published), whereas in the region of Campania as a whole the prevalence of SPT in children was 35% (41). In Italy, in the adult healthy population, SPT were positive in 31% and PT in 12.5% (35,42).…”

Asthma and respiratory symptoms in 6-7 yr old Italian children: gender, latitude, urbanization and socioeconomic factors. SIDRIA (Italian Studies on Respiratory Disorders in Childhood and the Environment)

“…As expected from most studies in this age range [31], male children outnumbered females in the prevalence of asthma, wheezing symptoms, and all the indicators of asthma severity. Although not directly comparable because of differences in sampling, age groups or questionnaires, these prevalences are not dissimilar to those obtained in smaller studies previously performed in Italy [20][21][22]. When comparing rates obtained in recent international studies in children of the same age group, the prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months is similar to that reported for Switzerland [1] and for Hong Kong [32], and lower than that reported for the UK [33][34][35], Australia, Chile [1], and Singapore [36].…”

“…Little information is available on the basic epidemiological aspects of asthma and of respiratory symptoms among children in the Mediterranean area, except for surveys of the general population [19], and a few studies conducted in limited regions [20][21][22] or on children older than those considered in the present study [23,24]. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no large-scale survey has been conducted to evaluate the prevalence of chronic cough and phlegm, or the effect of latitude, socioeconomic status, and urbanization on respiratory symptoms in children living in this area.…”

Drug Hypersensitivity: Epidemiology and Risk Factors

“…Finally, β-blocker treatments or the presence of asthma increase the risk of hypersensitivity to radiocontrast media by 2.5 and 4.5 respectively [14]. Atopy in general is not a risk factor [15][16][17], but atopic patients may suffer from more severe reactions. However, atopy could favor adverse reactions for a limited number of drugs such as non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs [18] and chymopapaïne [19].…”