Week of Aug. 26, 2000; Vol. 158, No. 9

Do more infections mean less asthma?

Young infants kept out of day care and having no more than one older sibling are significantly more likely to develop asthma than are babies who have greater exposure to other children.

References:

Ball, T.M. . . . and A.L. Wright. 2000. Siblings, day-care attendance, and the risk of asthma and wheezing during childhood. New England Journal of Medicine 343(Aug. 24):538-543. Abstract available at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/343/8/538.

Christiansen, S.C. 2000. Day care, siblings, and asthma—please, sneeze on my child. New England Journal of Medicine 343(Aug. 24):574-575.

Further Readings:

Carpenter, S. 1999. Modern hygiene's dirty tricks. Science News 156(Aug. 14):108. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc99/8_14_99/bob2.htm.

Kramer, U., et al. 1999. Age of entry to day nursery and allergy in later childhood. Lancet 353(Feb. 6):450-454. Available at http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol353/
iss9151/full/llan.353.9151.original_research.4918.1.

Nafstad, P., et al. 1999. Day care centers and respiratory health. Pediatrics 103(April):753-758. Abstract available at http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/abstract/103/4/753.

Postma, D.S., et al. 1995. Genetic susceptibility to asthma—bronchial hyperresponsiveness coinherited with a major gene for atopy. New England Journal of Medicine 333(Oct. 5):894-900. Available at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/333/14/894.

Prescott, S.L., et al. 1999. Development of allergen-specific T-cell memory in atopic and normal children. Lancet 353(Jan. 16):196-200. Available at http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol353/
iss9148/full/llan.353.9148.original_research.5088.1.

Sears, M.R. 1997. Epidemiology of childhood asthma. Lancet 350(Oct. 4):1015.

Strachan, D.P. 1989. Hayfever, hygiene, and household size. British Medical Journal 299(Nov. 18):1259-1260.

Yemaneberhan, H., et al. 1997. Prevalence of wheeze and asthma and relation to atopy in urban and rural Ethiopia. Lancet 350(July 12):85.

Sources:

Sandra C. Christiansen
Scripps Research Institute
La Jolla, CA 92037

Julian M. Hopkin
University of Wales
Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP
United Kingdom

Anne L. Wright
Respiratory Sciences Center
University of Arizona, Tucson
College of Medicine
1501 North Campbell Avenue
P.O. Box 245073
Tucson, AZ 85724-5073