Prevalence of hay fever and allergic sensitization in farmer's children and their peers living in the same rural community

作者：Braun‐Fahrländer, GASSNER, GRIZE, NEU, SENNHAUSER, VARONIER, VUILLE, Wüthrich, THE SCARPOL TEAM · 发表于：Clinical & Experimental Allergy · 年份：1999 · DOI：10.1046/j.1365-2222.1999.00479.x · 被引用次数：669 · 研究领域：Asthma and respiratory diseases、Allergic Rhinitis and Sensitization、Occupational exposure and asthma

INTRODUCTION: Lower prevalence rates of allergic diseases in rural as compared with urban populations have been interpreted as indicating an effect of air pollution. However, little is known about other factors of the rural environment which may determine the development of atopic sensitization and related diseases. OBJECTIVE: The authors tested the hypothesis that children growing up on a farm were less likely to be sensitized to common aerollergens and to suffer from allergic diseases than children living in the same villages but in nonfarming families. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three age groups of schoolchildren (6-7 years, 9-11 years, 13-15 years) living in three rural communities were included in the analyses. An exhaustive questionnaire was filled in by 1620 (86.0%) parents. A blood sample was provided by 404 (69.3%) of the 13-15 year olds to determine specific IgE antibodies against six common aeroallergens. RESULTS: Farming as parental occupation was reported for 307 children (19.0%). After adjustment for potential covariates such as family history of asthma and allergies, parental education, number of siblings, maternal smoking, pet ownership, indoor humidity and heating fuels, farming as parental occupation was significantly associated with lower rates of sneezing attacks during pollen season (adjusted OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.12-0.89) and atopic sensitization (adjusted OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.13-0.73) whereas the association with wheeze (adjusted OR 0.77 95% CI 0.38-1.58) and itch...