Asthma Heredity, Cord Blood IgE and Asthma-Related Symptoms and Medication in Adulthood: A Long-Term Follow-Up in a Swedish Birth Cohort

• Published in: PloS one 2013-06, Vol.8 (6), p.e66777-e66777
• Main Authors: Vogt, Hartmut, Bråbäck, Lennart, Zetterström, Olof, Zara, Katalin, Fälth-Magnusson, Karin, Nilsson, Lennart
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adrenal Cortex Hormones - therapeutic use; Adrenergic beta-2 Receptor Agonists - therapeutic use; Adult; Adults; Age; Allergens - immunology; Allergic diseases; Allergies; Asthma; Asthma - blood; Asthma - drug therapy; Asthma - epidemiology; Asthma - genetics; Biology; birth cohort; Blood; Child; Child development; Childbirth & labor; Children; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Cord blood; Councils; Drugs; family history; Family medical history; Female; Fetal Blood - metabolism; Follow-Up Studies; Gender differences; Genetics; Health sciences; Heredity; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity - drug therapy; Hypersensitivity - epidemiology; Hypersensitivity - etiology; Immunoglobulin E; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Infants; Inflammation; Male; Medical History Taking; Medical research; Medicine; Pediatrics; Personal identification numbers; Pollen; Population; Population studies; prediction; prescription; Prescriptions (Drugs); Prevalence; Registries; Respiratory system agents; Risk; Risk groups; Studies; Sweden - epidemiology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066777

Cord blood IgE has previously been studied as a possible predictor of asthma and allergic diseases. Results from different studies have been contradictory, and most have focused on high-risk infants and early infancy. Few studies have followed their study population into adulthood. This study assessed whether cord blood IgE levels and a family history of asthma were associated with, and could predict, asthma medication and allergy-related respiratory symptoms in adults. A follow-up was carried out in a Swedish birth cohort comprising 1,701 consecutively born children. In all, 1,661 individuals could be linked to the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and the Medical Birth Register, and 1,227 responded to a postal questionnaire. Cord blood IgE and family history of asthma were correlated with reported respiratory symptoms and dispensed asthma medication at 32-34 years. Elevated cord blood IgE was associated with a two- to threefold increased risk of pollen-induced respiratory symptoms and dispensed anti-inflammatory asthma medication. Similarly, a family history of asthma was associated with an increased risk of pollen-induced respiratory symptoms and anti-inflammatory medication. However, only 8% of the individuals with elevated cord blood IgE or a family history of asthma in infancy could be linked to current dispensation of anti-inflammatory asthma medication at follow-up. In all, 49 out of 60 individuals with dispensed anti-inflammatory asthma medication at 32-34 years of age had not been reported having asthma at previous check-ups of the cohort during childhood. Among those, only 5% with elevated cord blood IgE and 6% with a family history of asthma in infancy could be linked to current dispensation of anti-inflammatory asthma medication as adults. Elevated cord blood IgE and a positive family history of asthma were associated with reported respiratory symptoms and dispensed asthma medication in adulthood, but their predictive power was poor in this long-time follow-up.