Allergy among veterinary medicine students in The Netherlands

Samadi, Sadegh; Spithoven, Jack; Jamshidifard, Ali-Reza; Berends, B.R.; Lipman, L.J.A.; Heederik, Dick; Wouters, Inge M.

doi:10.1136/oem.2010.064089

Cited by 22 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Some studies reported both serum IgE levels and skin prick test results as measures of atopy [42][43][44][45][46], while the others reported only SPT [13,14,17,19,[47][48][49][50][51]or only serum IgE [10,15,16,19,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]. Six studies defined atopy from total serum IgE [42,44,55,58,60,61] and seventeen studies defined atopy from specific-IgE measurements [10,15,16,19,42,43,45,46,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59]…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Study Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only six studies included in this review attempted to investigate the line of production or specific farm exposure to a small degree [17,45,46,51,56,62]. Only six studies included in this review attempted to investigate the line of production or specific farm exposure to a small degree [17,45,46,51,56,62].…”

Section: Farming Location and Line Of Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two of the seven studies did not find any statistically significant associations between farm exposure in adulthood and risk of sensitization. The remaining five found varied but statistically significant associations with atopic sensitization in adult life [45,46,51,59,61]. One study reported a significant increase in the risk of sensitization to dust mites in dairy farmers working over 40 h per week on a farm [aOR= 5.2 (3.0-9.0)] […”

Section: Association Between Farming Exposure In Adulthood and Atopymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exposure to ‘farming’ and objective markers of atopy: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Campbell

Lodge

Lowe

et al. 2015

Clin Experimental Allergy

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There is growing interest in the 'farm effect' on the spectrum of allergy. Evidence concerning the farm effect on asthma, eczema, and allergic rhinitis has been systematically synthesized, but without a specific focus on objective markers of sensitization. This focus is important, as farm exposures may be related to allergy but not to non-allergic phenotypes of disease. We aimed to systematically review and meta-analyse literature that has investigated associations between farm exposure at any age and objective measures of atopy, that is serum IgE or skin prick tests results. Using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, we identified 29 articles for review. IgE levels were measured in either childhood or adulthood by eighteen studies, while skin prick testing was performed in sixteen studies. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessments indicated that the majority of these studies demonstrated a representative sample of selected participants. Due to significant heterogeneity in study measures and methodology between studies, only few were meta-analysed. This meta-analysis showed a significant protective effect of farm exposure before 1 year of life on allergic sensitization (OR = 0.60 [0.52-0.70]). Farm exposure during childhood was also associated with a reduced risk of sensitization to cat or timothy (OR = 0.60 [0.51-0.70]; OR=0.46 [0.41-0.51]). Studies investigating the effect of farm exposure in adult life could not be meta-analysed, and their results were inconsistent. Insufficient studies investigated food sensitization as an outcome to allow synthesis. The majority of studies included in this review investigated childhood farm exposure, finding evidence to support a protective childhood 'farm effect' against subsequent atopy. There is inconsistent evidence on the association between farm exposure in adulthood and allergic sensitization. Further studies are needed to tease out the exact exposures and timing associated with farming environments that protect against allergic disease.

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Section: Evaluation Of the Study Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Farming Location and Line Of Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Association Between Farming Exposure In Adulthood and Atopymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exposure to ‘farming’ and objective markers of atopy: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Campbell

Lodge

Lowe

et al. 2015

Clin Experimental Allergy

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“…The cross sectional design and study population have been described before by Samadi et al [18]. Briefly, all 1416 students, who were registered as a student of veterinary medicine in 2006 at Utrecht University, the only faculty of Veterinary Medicine in the Netherlands, were requested to participate.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Factors of Coxiella burnetii (Q Fever) Seropositivity in Veterinary Medicine Students

Rooij¹,

Schimmer

Versteeg

et al. 2012

PLoS ONE

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BackgroundQ fever is an occupational risk for veterinarians, however little is known about the risk for veterinary medicine students. This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii among veterinary medicine students and to identify associated risk factors.MethodsA cross-sectional study with questionnaire and blood sample collection was performed among all veterinary medicine students studying in the Netherlands in 2006. Serum samples (n = 674), representative of all study years and study directions, were analyzed for C. burnetii IgG and IgM phase I and II antibodies with an immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Seropositivity was defined as IgG phase I and/or II titer of 1∶32 and above.ResultsOf the veterinary medicine students 126 (18.7%) had IgG antibodies against C. burnetii. Seropositivity associated risk factors identified were the study direction ‘farm animals’ (Odds Ratio (OR) 3.27 [95% CI 2.14–5.02]), advanced year of study (OR year 6: 2.31 [1.22–4.39] OR year 3–5 1.83 [1.07–3.10]) having had a zoonosis during the study (OR 1.74 [1.07–2.82]) and ever lived on a ruminant farm (OR 2.73 [1.59–4.67]). Stratified analysis revealed study direction ‘farm animals’ to be a study-related risk factor apart from ever living on a farm. In addition we identified a clear dose-response relation for the number of years lived on a farm with C. burnetii seropositivity.Conclusions C. burnetii seroprevalence is considerable among veterinary medicine students and study related risk factors were identified. This indicates Q fever as an occupational risk for veterinary medicine students.

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“…The prevalence of horse allergy varies from 1% to 10% depending on geography, climate, and the level of exposure [7,12,13]. Published data about horse allergy in specific target groups is limited; the study in Turkey reported the rate of sensitization to horse hair among grooms at 12.8% [14], and another study of veterinary medicine students from the Netherlands found the rate of sensitization to horse to be as low as 1.6% [15]. This variation may be explained by differences in the duration and intensity of the exposure to horse allergens, different epitopes of horse allergens, and genetic factors in people who work with horses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased risk of horse sensitization in southwestern Iranian horse riders

Moghtaderi¹,

Farjadian²,

Hosseini³

et al. 2015

Int J Occup Med Environ Health

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Objectives: The aim of this study has been to investigate the frequency of sensitization to horse allergens and clinical symptoms in horse riders. Material and Methods: A total of 42 horse riders and 50 healthy individuals were examined by means of skin prick tests for a panel of horse and common animal allergens, and pulmonary function tests were done by spirometry. Results: The rate of sensitization to horse allergens was 31% as proven by the skin prick test in horse riders whereas horse sensitization was not seen in the control group. Occupational allergy symptoms were reported by 19 horse riders. Two horse riders with no history of clinical symptoms showed positive skin reactions to horse allergens. Conclusions: To decrease the high risk of occupational sensitization among horse riders, workplace conditions should be improved to reduce the load of airborne horse allergens.

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Allergy among veterinary medicine students in The Netherlands

Abstract: This study provides evidence of an elevated prevalence of allergic symptoms with increasing years of veterinary study, suggesting that contact with animals, more specifically contact to farm animals, is a risk factor for the development of symptoms.

Cited by 22 publications

References 34 publications

Exposure to ‘farming’ and objective markers of atopy: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Exposure to ‘farming’ and objective markers of atopy: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Risk Factors of Coxiella burnetii (Q Fever) Seropositivity in Veterinary Medicine Students

Increased risk of horse sensitization in southwestern Iranian horse riders

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