Prenatal and early-life predictors of atopy and allergic disease in Canadian children: results of the Family Atherosclerosis Monitoring In earLY life (FAMILY) Study

Abstract

Prenatal and early-life environmental exposures play a key role in the development of atopy and allergic disease. The Family Atherosclerosis Monitoring In earLY life Study is a general, population-based Canadian birth cohort that prospectively evaluated prenatal and early-life traits and their association with atopy and/or allergic disease. The study population included 901 babies, 857 mothers and 530 fathers. Prenatal and postnatal risk factors were evaluated through questionnaires collected during the antenatal period and at 1 year. The end points of atopy and allergic diseases in infants were evaluated through questionnaires and skin prick testing. Key outcomes included atopy (24.5%), food allergy (17.5%), cow's milk allergy (4.8%), wheezing (18.6%) and eczema (16%). The association between infant antibiotic exposure [odds ratio (OR): 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45-2.88] and increased atopy was noted in the multivariate analysis, whereas prenatal maternal exposure to dogs (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.42-0.84) and acetaminophen (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.51-0.92) was associated with decreased atopy. This population-based birth cohort in Canada demonstrated high rates of atopy, food allergy, wheezing and eczema. Several previously reported and some novel prenatal and postnatal exposures were associated with atopy and allergic diseases at 1 year of age.

Early Life Domestic Pet Ownership, and the Risk of Pet Sensitization and Atopic Dermatitis in Preschool Children: A Prospective Birth Cohort in Shanghai

“…Roduit et al found that children with prenatal pet and cat contact had a lower risk of AD in the first 2 years of life than those without (10). Another study regarding prenatal maternal exposure to dogs at home was "protective" against allergic diseases (27). Similarly, the risk of AD was also lower in the group of pet ownership during pregnancy in this study although it did not reach statistical significance.…”

“…It is reported that pet-or dog-ownership during pregnancy significantly lowered the risk of AD in the year of 1 or 2 in two previous prospective birth cohort studies (10,27). Roduit et al found that children with prenatal pet and cat contact had a lower risk of AD in the first 2 years of life than those without (10).…”

Association of Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen Use With Wheezing in Children With Acute Febrile Illness

“…Similarly, a study by Amberbir et al, 36 in a cohort of infants in Ethiopia, linked acetaminophen use in the first 3 years of life with increased incidence of wheeze and eczema between ages 3 and 5 years. In contrast, a recent cross-sectional study of Canadian infants, by Batool et al, 37 found that acetaminophen exposure was inversely associated with allergic disease (defined as parental report of any of the following: wheezing, eczema, allergic rhinitis, or food allergy).…”

Examining the effects of pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain on allergic disease development in offspring: a protocol for a population-based study using health administrative databases in Ontario, Canada

“…5 One 2016 study conducted in Ontario found that 44% of toddlers suffered from food allergies, environmental allergies (wheezing, asthma, eczema or rhinitis), atopy or a combination thereof. 6 Though one cross-sectional and several longitudinal studies have assessed the early-life programming of allergic diseases by maternal weight or GWG, they have been limited by small sample sizes (<1000) 7 8 and self-reported measures of the exposure or outcome, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] which have reduced their generalisability and validity. Further, most have focused on asthma alone, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] none have examined anaphylaxis and none have calculated risk by the length of follow-up time, opting instead for aggregate rates (loglinear model), 8 13 17 odds (logistic model) 7 9-12 14- 16 18 or prevalence ratios (log-binomial model).…”