title: Parity among atopic and non-atopic mothers.
abstract: A temporary Th2 skewed immunity is essential for a successful outcome of pregnancy. It is also a hallmark of atopic disease. We recorded the number of siblings to 3667 children in relation to maternal atopy. In all, 65% of the allergic and 56% of the non-allergic mothers had more than one child (p < 0.001). These data support a hypothesis that the atopic genotype may be associated with an increased likelihood for a successful outcome of pregnancy and thus from an evolutionary point of view compensate for the less efficient host defence against microbial infections associated with this type of immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Environment, Linköping University, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: N I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Kjellman
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Löfman
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Björkstén
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D010298:Parity