title: Is infant immunization a risk factor for childhood asthma or allergy?
abstract: The Christchurch Health and Development Study comprises 1,265 children born in 1977. The 23 children who received no diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) and polio immunizations had no recorded asthma episodes or consultations for asthma or other allergic illness before age 10 years; in the immunized children, 23.1% had asthma episodes, 22.5% asthma consultations, and 30.0% consultations for other allergic illness. Similar differences were observed at ages 5 and 16 years. These findings do not appear to be due to differential use of health services (although this possibility cannot be excluded) or con-founding by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, parental atopy, or parental smoking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Wellington School of Medicine, New Zealand.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kemp
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fitzharris
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crane
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fergusson
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: St George
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wickens
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beasley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004485:Eczema / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control