Family structure in relation to health and disease

Chen, Eric; Cobb, Sidney

doi:10.1016/0021-9681(60)90120-x

Cited by 82 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…[1][2][3][4][5] Most of these studies, however, were conducted over the last two decades while those from before that time have generally been small and inconsistent in their findings. [11][12][13][14][15] Smaller and often casebased studies have reported similar associations. 11 12 On the other hand, large scale epidemiological studies based on unselected samples from the general population born before the 1980s have often failed to reproduce these results.…”

Section: Comparison Of Results With Other Studiesmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…5 7-10 Furthermore, epidemiological data supportive of a sibling effect in individuals born before the 1980s are limited and inconsistent. [11][12][13][14][15] If infections are the underlying protective factor, one would predict the sibling effect to be stronger-not weaker-at a time when the hygiene differentials are potentially steeper. Consequently, alternative explanations for the sibling effect have been proposed that mainly relate to inherent differences in immune function (the ''intrauterine programming hypothesis'').…”

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confidence: 99%

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Association between sibship size and allergic diseases in the Glasgow Alumni Study

Kinra

Smith²,

Jeffreys³

et al. 2005

Thorax

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Background: Recent epidemiological studies consistently report an inverse association between sibship size and allergic disease, but evidence from individuals born before the 1980s is inconsistent. As information on relative permanence of this finding may offer clues to its biological explanation, the association between sibship size and allergic disease in individuals born between 1918 and 1952 was investigated. Methods: Cross sectional surveys conducted by the Student Health Service at the University of Glasgow (1948-68) provided data on 14 140 men and women aged 16-30 years at the time of examination. The main outcome measures studied were self-reported asthma, eczema-urticaria, and hay fever. Results: A total of 1677 individuals (11.9%) provided a positive history of at least one of the three allergic diseases: 457 (3.2%) asthma, 594 (4.2%) eczema-urticaria, and 885 (6.3%) hay fever. Compared with those without siblings (reference odds ratio = 1), the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for having any allergic disease among those with one, two or three siblings were 0.86 (0.75 to 0.99), 0.80 (0.69 to 0.93), and 0.70 (0.60 to 0.83), respectively (p trend ,0.001). Increasing birth order and low socioeconomic position in childhood were associated with a lower risk of allergy. Adjustment for birth order, year of birth, age, sex, socioeconomic position in childhood, and family history of allergy did not materially alter the results. Conclusions: There is a robust inverse association between sibship size and allergic disease even among people born in the first half of the 20th century. These results favour relatively time-independent explanations for this phenomenon (such as the hygiene hypothesis or parity related changes in the intrauterine environment) over new environmental exposures.

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Section: Comparison Of Results With Other Studiesmentioning

confidence: 83%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between sibship size and allergic diseases in the Glasgow Alumni Study

Kinra

Smith²,

Jeffreys³

et al. 2005

Thorax

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show abstract

“…If the operative feature in the shared environment is infection or faulty nutrition, the disease is likely to be more common in large families. Evidence that this is the case in rheumatoid arthritis is forthcoming from the work of Chen and Cobb (1960), Francis and Epstein (1965), and Bennett and Burch (1968b). Using the ARA Criteria, Bennett and Burch found that sibs from large families have a greater chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis than those from small families, but the effect was not such as to cause familial aggregation detectable by the ARA Criteria.…”

Section: Manchester Family Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

Heberden Oration, 1969. Rheumatoid arthritis–nature or nurture?

Lawrence¹

1970

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

179

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“…17 There is also no evidence that overcrowding per se is associated with an increased risk of onset. 18 RA may occur more frequently in those from a large sibship, although this is not a consistent finding. 19 Pet ownership is more likely prior to the onset of RA, 20 and this is perhaps particularly true in relation to cats rather than dogs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 71%