title: Neonatal sepsis, antibiotic therapy and later risk of asthma and allergy.
abstract: Neonatal sepsis and early antibiotic therapy affect bacterial colonisation and immune activation after birth. This could have implications for later risk of allergy and asthma. Using a validated questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children, ISAAC), we screened for asthma and allergy in three cohorts (total n = 834; median age 12, range 7-23 years) with different perinatal exposures as regards infection and antibiotics. Asthma, but not hay fever, was more prevalent after neonatal sepsis with adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.63 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04, 2.56] and early antibiotic therapy (OR 1.48 [0.93, 2.35]) as compared with a control group. There was a trend towards increased atopic eczema after neonatal sepsis (OR = 1.39 [CI = 0.98, 1.98]). We conclude that neonatal sepsis is associated with an increased risk for later development of asthma. Early antibiotic exposure may contribute to this association.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, S-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden. tanja.sobko@ki.se
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sobko
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schiött
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ehlin
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lundberg
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Norman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents