Biologic pollution in infant bedding in New Zealand: High allergen exposure during a vulnerable period☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Infant study group
Over a 12-month period from November 1993 to November 1994, all Wellington-based mothers of healthy infants born at Wellington Women’s Hospital were approached on the postnatal ward during a 3-week period each 3 months, thereby ensuring that sampling took place during each season.
Mothers and infants were visited in their homes, and dust samples were obtained from the bedding, bedroom, and living room floors of 154 infants at age 5 and 16 weeks (mean 11 weeks) and again at age 12 to 19 months
RESULTS
All infants (49% female) lived with their birth mother. Ninety-two (59.7%) of the infants were the firstborn children in the family, 34 (22.1%) had 1 sibling, and 28 (18.2%) had 2 or more siblings. At the first visit (mean age 11 weeks), 78 (50.6%) slept in a cot (crib); 70 (45.5%) in a bassinet, cradle, or basket; and 2 (1.3%) in the parental bed. At the second visit, 129 (84.3%) were in a cot, 13 (8.5%) in their own bed, and 10 (6.5%) in the parental bed. The majority of beds included an
DISCUSSION
The reservoir concentrations of Der p 1 in bedding identified in this study are approximately 10-fold higher than those previously reported for infant mattresses from the Netherlands.27 Given the increased risks of sensitization and the development of asthma associated with levels considerably lower than those found in our study, it is perhaps not surprising that asthma in New Zealand is common, severe, and dominated by allergy to HDM. The great majority (96%) of the study infants were exposed
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the research assistance provided by Rachel Kent, Tania Slater, Louise Stone, and Sarah Tohill and thank the parents and infants who participated in this study.
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Cited by (28)
Endotoxin exposure, wheezing, and rash in infancy in a New Zealand birth cohort
2006, Journal of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyCitation Excerpt :The smaller number of infants with no family history reduces our power to observe an effect of endotoxin in this group and is reflected in the wider CIs associated with the estimates. We used the Quintest after difficulties using a standard method of skin prick testing in an earlier study of 15-month old infants.25 It became clear that the Quintest application was producing smaller wheals than would have been expected.
Cat and dust mite sensitivity and tolerance in relation to wheezing among children raised with high exposure to both allergens
2005, Journal of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyCitation Excerpt :A subsample of children with (n = 112) and without (n = 112) current wheeze was randomly chosen for this nested case-control study and provided blood. Dust samples were obtained from mattresses and analyzed as described previously.16,18 The severity of wheezing in the last 12 months was assessed and scored by using 3 measures: the number of attacks of wheezing was scored from 1 to 4 as none (1), 1 to 3 (2), 4 to 12 (3), and greater than 12 (4); the frequency of sleep disturbance was scored from 1 to 3 as never (1), less than 1 night weekly (2), and 1 or more nights weekly (3); and the occurrence of breathlessness severe enough to limit speech was scored from 1 to 2 as no (1) and yes (2).
Sensitisation, asthma, and a modified Th2 response in children exposed to cat allergen: A population-based cross-sectional study
2001, LancetCitation Excerpt :Our results could be seen as evidence for that hypothesis in its most general form.12 However, the hypothesis has been extended to suggest that the effect of decreased exposure to animal products and infections early in life is to bias the immune response towards a Th2 response, possibly secondary to decreased IL-12 production.13,15–31 Our results are not in accord with this view because IgG4 antibodies are part of a Th2 response, and the effect we have seen appears to be antigen specific.
Fel d 1 levels in domestic living rooms are not related to cat color or hair length [4]
2001, Journal of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyThe Role of Dust Mites in Allergy
2019, Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology
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From the Wellington Asthma Research Group, Department of Medicine, Wellington School of Medicine.
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Supported in part by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand, the Wellington Medical Research Foundation, and the Marjorie Barclay Trust. J.C. is supported by a Professorial Research Fellowship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, who also support the Wellington Asthma Research Group with a Programme Grant. The allergen laboratory was established with a grant from the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand.
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Reprint requests: Penny Fitzharris, MD, Department of Medicine, Wellington School of Medicine, PO Box 7343, Wellington South, New Zealand.
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0091-6749/98 $5.00 + 0 & 1/1/93144