Lower prevalence of asthma and atopy in Turkish children living in Germany

Kabesch, Michael; Schaal, W; Nicolaï, Thomas; Mutius, Erika von

doi:10.1183/09031936.99.13357799

Cited by 49 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The reduction of the study population by selection of children with German nationality was quantitatively negligible. In addition, ethnicity has been shown to be a significant determinant for the prevalence of atopic diseases in Germany [35].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inner city air pollution and respiratory health and atopy in children

Hirsch¹,

Weiland²,

Mutius³

et al. 1999

Eur Respir J

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192

139

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The impact of inner city air pollution on the development of respiratory and atopic diseases in childhood is still unclear.In a cross sectional study in Dresden, Germany, 5,421 children in two age groups (5±7 yrs and 9±11 yrs) were studied according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) phase II protocol. The prevalences of wheezing and cough as well as doctor diagnosed asthma and bronchitis were assessed by parental questionnaires. Children also underwent skin-prick testing, venipuncture for the measurement of serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E, lung function testing and a bronchial challenge test (4.5% saline) to assess airway hyperresponsiveness. Exposure was assessed on an individual basis by relating mean annual air pollution levels (SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, benzene, and O 3 ) which had been measured on a 1 km 2 grid, to the home and school address of each study subject.After adjusting for potential confounding factors an increase in the exposure to benzene of 1 mg . m 3 air was associated with an increased prevalence of morning cough (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)): 1.15; 1.04±1.27) and bronchitis (aOR: 1.11; 1.03±1.19). Similar associations were observed for NO 2 and CO. In turn, the prevalences of atopic sensitization, symptoms of atopic diseases and bronchial hyperresponsiveness were not positively associated with exposure to any of these pollutants.It is concluded that in this study a moderate increase in exposure to traffic-related air pollution was associated with an increased prevalence of cough and bronchitis, but not with atopic conditions in children. Eur Respir J 1999; 14: 669±677. [3,4,6] and the occurrence of respiratory tract illnesses. Not all reports attempted to discriminate between the different phenotypes of these conditions. Reports that provide detailed information suggest an effect on the prevalence of cough and bronchitis, but not on asthma and atopy [2,7,8].Other epidemiological studies found an association between automobile [9,10] or truck traffic frequency [11± 13] and wheeze. Higher exposure to truck traffic and black smoke was also associated with impaired forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) [14]. Some studies also reported an association between truck traffic frequency [12,13] or black smoke exposure [11] and symptoms of allergic rhinitis. A large Italian study on 39,275 children [15] found a significant association between truck traffic exposure and wheeze, but the associations with other respiratory symptoms (cough and phlegm) were more pronounced. No positive associations were seen between traffic exposure and doctor-diagnosed asthma [9, 11], atopy [11] or bronchial hyperrespon-siveness (BHR) [9]. In contrast to these findings data from in vitro studies and laboratory experiments suggest that particles from diesel exhaust, one of the major contributors to particulate matter pollution in urban areas, specifically promote allergic reactions and BHR [16].Limitations of study design and exposure assessment have hampered the interpretation ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inner city air pollution and respiratory health and atopy in children

Hirsch¹,

Weiland²,

Mutius³

et al. 1999

Eur Respir J

Self Cite

192

139

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The proportion of children without German nationality was 23.1% (n=1,431) in Munich. As reported elsewhere, reporting behaviour and socioeconomic variables were profoundly different with regard to ethnic background [26]. Therefore, the analysis presented here was restricted to children with German nationality.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban traffic and pollutant exposure related to respiratory outcomes and atopy in a large sample of children

et al. 2003

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Conflicting results have been reported for the relationship between traffic exposure and inception of atopy. The effect of traffic on the prevalence of asthma and atopy at school age was investigated in a representative population.Random samples of schoolchildren (n=7,509, response rate 83.7%) were studied using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood phase-II protocol with skin-prick tests, measurements of specific immunoglobulin E and lung function. Traffic exposure was assessed via traffic counts and by an emission model which predicted soot, benzene and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ).Traffic counts were associated with current asthma, wheeze and cough. In children with tobacco-smoke exposure, traffic volume was additionally associated with a positive skin-prick test. Cough was associated with soot, benzene and NO 2 , current asthma with soot and benzene, and current wheeze with benzene and NO 2 . No pollutant was associated with allergic sensitisation.High vehicle traffic was associated with asthma, cough and wheeze, and in children additionally exposed to environmental tobacco smoke, with allergic sensitisation. However, effects of socioeconomic factors associated with living close to busy roads cannot be ruled out. Eur Respir J 2003; 21: 956-963.

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“…25 Several factors may contribute to the inconsistency in research. First, the approaches to define the outcome variable for allergies vary across the studies, including the use of serum IgE level, 24 skin prick test results, 26 and self-reported symptoms or diagnoses. 19,20 The different sensitivity and specificity across these approaches may contribute to the inconsistency, yet objective measures and doctor-diagnosed conditions have higher specificity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, the definitions of the exposure variable for immigration status also vary. Studies defined immigrant populations with first-generation immigrants (i.e., those born outside of the host country) only, 19,23,24 a mix of first-and second-generation (i.e., those born in the host country to immigrant parents) immigrants, 20,26 or second-generation immigrants only. 25 Second-generation immigrants have been found consistently to have higher rates of allergies than first-generation immigrants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of non-food allergies among non-immigrants, long-time immigrants and recent immigrants in Canada

Yao

Sbihi

2016

Can J Public Health

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OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of allergic conditions has been increasing worldwide, with the highest rates seen in Western countries like Canada. The development of allergies is known to be related to both genetic and environmental factors, but the causal pathways remain unclear. Studies on immigrants provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these two factors and provide a better understanding of the disease aetiology. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between immigration status and prevalence of non-food allergies in a population-based study of Canadians. RESULTS:The highest prevalence of non-food allergies was found among non-immigrants (29.6%), followed by long-time immigrants (23.9%) and then recent immigrants (14.3%). The odds of non-food allergies were reduced by 60% (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.45) among recent immigrants and 25% (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.80) among long-time immigrants, compared with non-immigrants, after adjusting for sex, age, socio-economic status and rurality.CONCLUSION: This study finds a distinctly lower prevalence of non-food allergies among immigrants compared with non-immigrants, with the difference diminishing with longer duration of residence in Canada. The findings highlight the potential of environmental determinants of allergy development that warrant further investigation, and demonstrate the need for multicultural strategies to manage the public health burden of allergic conditions. KEY WORDS: Allergy and immunology; respiratory hypersensitivity; emigrants and immigrants; socio-economic factors La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

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Lower prevalence of asthma and atopy in Turkish children living in Germany

Cited by 49 publications

References 25 publications

Inner city air pollution and respiratory health and atopy in children

Inner city air pollution and respiratory health and atopy in children

Urban traffic and pollutant exposure related to respiratory outcomes and atopy in a large sample of children

Prevalence of non-food allergies among non-immigrants, long-time immigrants and recent immigrants in Canada

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