Association of allergic symptoms in children with those in their parents

Abstract

This study investigated the association of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema in United Arab Emirates (UAE) schoolchildren with allergic conditions in their parents. A cross-sectional, population-based study among schoolchildren aged 6-14 years was conducted in Al-Ain City, UAE. The field survey was conducted from October 1992 to May 1993. A questionnaire was distributed to 850 UAE government school students from representative, randomly selected schools with a majority of UAE nationals. The student and both or either of the parents were present during the interview. A detailed clinical history of asthma and wheezing in the target children and a history of asthma and allergic rhinitis in their parents and siblings were obtained. It was found that 13.1% of asthmatic children had mothers with asthma (relative risk (RR) = 2.67; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.65-4.35), and 15.2% had fathers who were asthmatic (RR = 2.85; 95% CI = 1.81-4.49). This contrasted with 4.4% of nonasthmatic children who had fathers with asthma, and 4.1% who had mothers with asthma. A similar pattern was seen with symptoms of allergic rhinitis when it was found that 34.3% of children who had asthma had mothers with allergic rhinitis (RR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.90-3.94). The corresponding figure for fathers was 12.7% (RR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.5-1.7). The frequency of either parent of the asthmatic children having allergic rhinitis was 28.6%; for both parents, it was 14.5%. It was also found that asthmatic children had 12.5% of their fathers, 32.8% of their mothers, 26.4% of either of their parents, and 33.3% of both their parents suffering from allergic rhinitis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Particular characteristics of allergic symptoms in tropical environments: follow up to 24 months in the FRAAT birth cohort study

“…In this study, maternal asthma was consistently associated with wheezing and recurrent wheezing in the offspring, a finding already observed in different populations and considered an important risk factor for asthma in children before 5 years [58-61]. The mechanisms of this "maternal effect" and why it is more evident during early childhood are unknown.…”

Airway infections in infancy and the presence of allergy and asthma in school age children

“…22 However, children's asthma above 5 years of age had a similar influence to fathers' and mothers' asthma 22 ; the same observation was seen in studies of older children and young adults. 23 24 We have no clear explanation for the observed negative association between paternal and their offspring's asthma. Under-diagnosis of asthma among fathers is possible, which would underestimate an association between asthma in fathers and offspring.…”

Recurrent Wheeze in Early Childhood and Asthma Among Children at Risk for Atopy

“…15,16 In a previous cross-sectional analysis of 217 siblings of the index children from this at-risk birth cohort, Litonjua et al 11 showed that the risk of childhood asthma before the age of 5 years was strongly associated with a maternal history of asthma. However, in agreement with our findings, maternal and paternal asthma were associated with similar risks among children older than 5 years of age.…”