Reduced basal salivary cortisol in children with asthma and allergic rhinitis

“…The presence of a chemical in saliva depends on its chemical characteristics; both lipophilic and nonionized molecules pass from blood to saliva better than hydrophilic and ionized molecules (Esteban and Castaño 2009). Saliva is most frequently used for the diagnosis of hereditary disorders, autoimmune diseases, malignant and infectious diseases, and endocrine disorders, as well as in the assessment of therapeutic levels of drugs and the monitoring of illicit drug use (Kaufman and Lamster 2002;Bakkeheim et al 2010). Although saliva is not currently used for environmental exposure, recently, children from primary schools provided saliva samples for a cotinine assay to evaluate changes in children's exposure to second-hand smoke after the implementation of smoke-free legislation (Holliday et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organophosphate pesticide environmental exposure: analysis of salivary cholinesterase and carboxilesterase activities in preschool children and their mothers

Bulgaroni

Rovedatti

Sabino

et al. 2011

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of salivary cholinesterase and carboxylesterase as biomarkers of exposure to environmental organophosphate pesticides. Ninety samples were obtained from women and 62 samples from their preschool-aged children who live near an agricultural area of the Upper Valley of the Negro River (Patagonia, Argentina) where pesticides are applied 6 months a year. Each participant donated two samples under similar conditions: one in the pre-exposure period and another during the pulverization period. Demographic information, potential confounders, and risk behaviors were registered. Active or passive smoking had no effect on these enzyme activities in either group. During the pulverization period, cholinesterase activity was not detectable in 76% of the children's samples and 23% of the mothers' samples. Comparing samples collected during the pulverization period with respect to the pre-pulverization period, the average mother and child cholinesterase activity decreased by 65.7% (p < 0.001) and 85.8% (p < 0.001), respectively. Also, mother and child carboxylesterase activity decreased by 27.5% (p < 0.001) and 41.9% (p < 0.01), respectively. Child carboxylesterase activity in the pulverization period was associated to the habit of eating dust outdoors (p < 0.01). The most frequent inhibition levels observed for cholinesterase and carboxylesterase activity were between 70-100% and 0-29%, respectively, in both groups studied. This shows that at the same level of exposure, cholinesterase was more sensitive to inhibition than carboxylesterase. Therefore, carboxylesterase might more properly reflect the degree of environmental organophosphate exposure and may have potential as a novel tool for biomonitoring.

show abstract

“…14,15 Children with established allergic disease differ in cortisol response to stress and have altered basal cortisol levels compared with healthy children. 16,17 We have previously shown that school children of families with an anthroposophic lifestyle seem to have a lower prevalence of allergic diseases [18][19][20] and recently that infants in these families have low levels of salivary cortisol and of allergic sensitization. 21,22 The aim of this study was to investigate whether salivary cortisol levels early in life are associated with the development of allergic sensitization and symptoms during early childhood.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%