RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The influence of growing up on a farm on adult allergy, asthma and lung function
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP P1946
VO 44
IS Suppl 58
A1 Brittany Campbell
A1 Cecilie Svanes
A1 Chantal Raherison
A1 Bénédicte Leynaert
A1 Caroline Lodge
A1 Adrian Lowe
A1 Thorarinn Gislason
A1 Joachim Heinrich
A1 Jordi Sunyer
A1 Francisco Gómez Real
A1 Dan Norbäck
A1 Melanie Matheson
A1 Matthias Wjst
A1 Julia Dratva
A1 Roberto de Marco
A1 Christer Janson
A1 Shyamali Dharmage
YR 2014
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P1946.abstract
AB Aim: Investigate the impact of early-life farm exposure on objective measures of adult sensitization, asthma and lung function.Background: Early life farming exposure may protect against asthma and allergies, but no study has investigated this effect on measures of lung function.Methods: The ECRHS II recorded living environment (farm, rural environment, inner city) in the first 5 years of life for ∼10,000 26-54 year old participants from 14 countries. Outcomes assessed were: bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR, a fall of >= 20% in FEV1 after methacholine challenge test), current asthma (BHR + wheezing or use of asthma medications in past 12 months), and sensitization. Regression techniques investigated the associations between all outcomes and early childhood environment for any 'farming effect'.Results: Compared to those who grew up in a city, a significantly lower odds of sensitization was observed in those who grew up in a farm (aOR 0.46 95% CI 0.37-0.58) and rural environment (aOR 0.83 95% CI 0.73-0 .94). However, the protective effect for those who grew up on a farm was significantly higher than for a rural environment, which was consistent across all participating countries. Early-life on a farm was also associated with less asthma, BHR and rhinitis, but only in the presence of atopy. Also, women with early-life farm exposure had significantly increased FEV1, independent of both atopy and asthma.Conclusions: The protective effect of farming on asthma, BHR, and rhinitis are driven by atopy. However, farming seems to have an independent beneficial effect on FEV1 among females, which is a novel finding. The protective 'farm-effect' appears to be stronger than the protective 'rural effect'.