title: Relationship between silent gastroesophageal reflux and food sensitization in infants and young children with recurrent wheezing.
abstract: It is known that early childhood wheezing associated with sensitization to allergens, including food, has an increased risk of developing asthma later during school age. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is well known to be associated with asthma. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is an association between silent GER and food sensitization in infants and young children with recurrent wheezing. Eighty-five infants or young children with recurrent wheezing, and no gastrointestinal symptoms, underwent 24 hr esophageal pH monitoring, as well as total serum IgE and specific IgE testing for eggs and milk. Among the 85 subjects, 48.2% had significant GER. There was no significant difference in the GER between atopic and non-atopic recurrent wheezers (41.7% and 50.8%, respectively). The sensitization rate to food (eggs or milk) was 12.2% and 20.5% in the GER and non-GER groups, respectively and showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.34). In conclusion, about half of infants and young children with recurrent wheezing and no gastrointestinal symptoms have silent GER. The silent GER may not contribute to food sensitization in infants and young children with recurrent wheezing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Kil
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Ja Kyoung
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: So Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jeong Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dae Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Byong Kwan
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Son
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D050782:Esophageal pH Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens