The European Community Respiratory Health Survey

Burney, Peter; Luczynska, Christina; Chinn, Susan; Jarvis, Déborah

doi:10.1183/09031936.94.07050954

Cited by 1,466 publications

(1,076 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…Seven hundred and fifty seven participants attended the laboratory for that particular study. The full methodology of this study has been published elsewhere (Burney et al, 1994;Abramson et al, 1996), but briefly, 4500 adults aged between 20 and 44 y were randomly selected from the electoral rolls from three federal electorates in the inner south-eastern area of Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria. These subjects were invited to complete a brief postal questionnaire (phase I of the study).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reported adverse food reactions overestimate true food allergy in the community

et al. 2002

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Objective: To determine the extent to which perceived adverse food reactions were associated with IgE mediated food allergy, as defined by skin prick testing (SPT). Design: A cohort epidemiological study. Participants underwent SPT to five common food allergens (cow's milk, peanut mix, egg white, shrimp and whole grain wheat mix) and were asked whether they had ever suffered any food 'illness=trouble', and if so to list such food(s). A positive SPT was defined as wheal diameter of 3 mm. Cohen's kappa (k) was used to assess the agreement between SPT and self-reported reactions to food(s) which contained the allergen of interest. Setting: Randomly selected adults who took part in the follow-up of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) in 1998. Subjects: The subjects were 457 adults aged 26 -50 y. Results: Fifty-eight (13%) adults were sensitised to at least one food allergen whilst 99 adults (22%) reported illness to food(s) nearly always. However, only seven subjects who reported illness to a food also had a positive SPT to the same food. The prevalence of adverse food reactions associated with IgE mediated allergy in the adult general population would be less than 1.5% (7=457). The agreement between SPT and self-reported illness to food(s) was poor for cow's milk (k ¼ 0) and wheat (k ¼ 0), slight for shrimp (k ¼ 0.16) and egg white (k ¼ 0.09) and fair for peanut mix (k ¼ 0.37). Conclusions: There was little agreement between self-reported perceived illness to food(s) known to contain the food allergen of interest, and positive SPT, suggesting that most reactions are not due to IgE mediated food allergy.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reported adverse food reactions overestimate true food allergy in the community

et al. 2002

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“…The time between both home visits ranged from 6 to 13 months with a median time interval of 7 months, whereas three-quarters of all homes were revisited after 6-8 months. The study population consisted of two parts corresponding to subsets of participants from two other studies: 362 adults living in Erfurt or Hamburg who had participated within the German centers of the European Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) (Burney et al, 1994) and 415 school children living in three regions of former East Germany (Zerbst, Bitterfeld, Hettstedt) who participated in a study of air pollution effects and determinants of allergic diseases . Details of the selection of the study population have been described elsewhere (Richter et al, 2000;Heinrich et al, 2001).…”

Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproducibility of allergen, endotoxin and fungi measurements in the indoor environment

Heinrich

Hölscher

Douwes

et al. 2003

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Measurements of biocontaminants in settled house dust once a year are commonly used to assess long-term exposure. To examine stability over time and seasonal variation, we measured concentrations of mite and cat allergens, endotoxin and mold spores in living room floor dust in 745 German homes collected twice a year in two different seasons. The study population consisted of adults and children living in five different areas in Germany. All dust samples were collected in a standardized manner from the living room floor and taken during the years 1995 to 1998. The median interval between the two dust samplings was approximately 7 months. Mite and cat allergens were measured in settled house dust by monoclonal antibodies, endotoxin by the limulus amebocyte lysate method, and total spore counts by cultural methods. Crude Pearson's correlation coefficients between logtransformed concentrations in the first and second dust samples ranged between 0.65 and 0.75 for allergens, 0.59 for endotoxin and only 0.06 for total spore counts. The strongest and most consistent seasonal effects were observed for fungi with highest levels in July-September. Cat allergen concentrations were found consistently to be increased in January-March. Mite allergens did not show a strong and consistent seasonal pattern. We conclude that repeated measurements of mite and cat allergens and endotoxin in settled house dust improve the estimate for annual mean concentrations. However, even a single observation of these biocontaminants may be a good proxy for a 1-year exposure since repeated measures were highly correlated. However, repeated measurements of fungi levels were only weakly correlated and thus repeated observations for assessment of annual means of total spore counts are needed.

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“…The full details of the sampling protocol for the ECRHS has been described elsewhere (Burney et al, 1994;Abramson et al, 1996). Brie¯y, participating centres selected an area for study de®ned by pre-existing administrative boundaries with at least 150 000 inhabitants and upto-date sampling frames for subjects aged 20 ± 44 y of age.…”

Section: Study Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) was a multicentre study which aimed to compare the prevalence of adult asthma between countries, using standardized epidemiological methods and to identify the risk factors associated with the international variation in asthma prevalence throughout Europe and elsewhere (Burney et al, 1994). Some dietary information was also collected as part of the ECRHS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

International prevalences of reported food allergies and intolerances. Comparisons arising from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) 1991–1994

et al. 2001

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Objective: The aim of this study was to report the prevalence, type and reported symptoms associated with food intolerance. Design: A cross-sectional epidemiological study involving 15 countries using standardized methodology. Participants answered a detailed interviewer-administered questionnaire and took part in blood, lung function and skin prick tests to common aeroallergens. Setting: Randomly selected adults who took part in the second phase of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Subjects: The subjects were 17 280 adults aged 20 ± 44 y. Results: Twelve percent of respondents reported food allergyaintolerance (range 4.6% in Spain to 19.1% in Australia). Atopic females who had wheezed in the past 12 months, ever had asthma or were currently taking oral asthma medications were signi®cantly more likely to report food allergyaintolerance. Participants from Scandinavia or Germany were signi®cantly more likely than those from Spain to report food allergyaintolerance. Respondents who reported breathlessness as a food-related symptom were more likely to have wheezed in the past 12 months, to have asthma, use oral asthma medications, be atopic, have bronchial hyperreactivity, be older and reside in Scandinavia. Conclusion: Self-reported food allergyaintolerance differed signi®cantly across multiple countries. The reasons for these differences were not explored in this study, but are likely to be largely due to cultural differences.

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The European Community Respiratory Health Survey

Cited by 1,466 publications

References 56 publications

Reported adverse food reactions overestimate true food allergy in the community

Reported adverse food reactions overestimate true food allergy in the community

Reproducibility of allergen, endotoxin and fungi measurements in the indoor environment

International prevalences of reported food allergies and intolerances. Comparisons arising from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) 1991–1994

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