engleski

Family History, Cord Blood Immunoglobulin E and Allergy Symptoms in the First 4 Years of Life

Introduction In our prospective study, we wanted to assess the relationship between family history, cord blood Immunoglobulin E (cIgE) levels and appearance of allergy symptoms in the first 4 years of life. Methods A total of 139 unselected newborn babies born in the maternity department of the General County Hospital of Požega from December 2009 to September 2010 were prospectively followed from birth up to age 4. Informed consent from their mothers was obtained and this study was approved by the local ethics committee. Umbilical cord blood was obtained by the puncture of the cord vein. Total concentration of cIgE was determined by electro chemiluminescence immunoassay (Cobas, e411, Roche diagnostics, Tokyo, Japan). The concentration of IgA in cord blood was measured to rule out maternal contamination of the cord blood specimen. Family history was obtained using structured interview of the child’s mother by the clinician. At the age of 1 and 2 years, the children were re-assessed with clinical examination and structured parental interviews by the physician. At the age of 4 (3 years and 8 months to 4 years and 1 month), interviews with parents were undertaken. The subjects’ history of allergy symptoms or physician-diagnosed atopic eczema, wheezing bronchitis, food allergy and allergic rhinitis was recorded. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to assess data normality. The Chi-square test was used to analyze differences between groups with and without allergic disease regarding family history. Spearman correlation coefficients between cIgE and allergy symptoms were calculated. All P values below 0.05 were considered significant. Statistical software STATISTICA version 10.0 was used in all statistical procedures. Results Forty- six of the 139 children (33.0%) manifested allergy symptoms during the 4-year follow-up period. Atopic dermatitis was diagnosed in 10.1% (14/139) of the children, 16.5% (23/139) had wheezing bronchitis, 2.9% (4/139) had food allergy, and 3.6% (5/139) had allergic rhinitis. Most of the children with atopy (n = 27) had a positive family history. The values of cIgE ranged from 0.0 to 16.20 IU/ml. Twenty- seven of the 139 neonates (19.4%) presented with an elevated cIgE (≥0.5 IU/ml). Participants who had a positive family history for allergy were more frequently in a group with at least one allergic disease (P = 0.004). No significant correlation was found between cIgE levels and allergy symptoms in the first 4 years of life. Conclusion Our study did not reveal an association between cIgE levels and appearance of allergy symptoms. Children with positive family history were more likely to manifest allergy symptoms in the first 4 years of life. We would like to emphasize the importance of research on early markers of atopic predisposition.

Immunoglobulin E

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