Is infant immunization a risk factor for childhood asthma or allergy?
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.
Kemp
T
T
Department of Medicine, Wellington School of Medicine, New Zealand.
Pearce
N
N
Fitzharris
P
P
Crane
J
J
Fergusson
D
D
St George
I
I
Wickens
K
K
Beasley
R
R
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