1. The Kingston Allergy Birth Cohort
- Author
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Anne K. Ellis, Greg J. Evans, Lisa M. Steacy, Vanessa Omana, Nadia M. Daniel, Michelle L. North, Jeffrey R. Brook, Miriam Diamond, and Elizabeth Y. Lee
- Subjects
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,education.field_of_study ,Exposome ,business.industry ,Immunology ,Population ,Breastfeeding ,Gestational age ,Disease ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,030228 respiratory system ,Wheeze ,Environmental health ,Cohort ,Immunology and Allergy ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,medicine.symptom ,business ,education ,Socioeconomic status - Abstract
Background The Kingston Allergy Birth Cohort (KABC) is a prenatally recruited cohort initiated to study the developmental origins of allergic disease. Kingston General Hospital was chosen for recruitment because it serves a population with notable diversity in environmental exposures relevant to the emerging concept of the exposome. Objective To establish a profile of the KABC using the exposome framework and examine parentally reported respiratory symptoms to 2 years of age. Methods Data on phase 1 of the cohort (n = 560 deliveries) were compiled, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to determine associations with respiratory symptoms. Results The KABC exhibits diversity within the 3 exposome domains of general external (socioeconomic status, rural or urban residence), specific external (cigarette smoke, breastfeeding, mold or dampness), and internal (respiratory health, gestational age), as well as significant associations between exposures from different domains. Significant associations emerged between parental reports of wheeze or cough without a cold and prenatal cigarette smoke exposure, mold or dampness in the home, and the use of air fresheners in the early-life home environment. Breastfeeding, older siblings, and increased gestational age were associated with decreased respiratory symptoms. Conclusion The KABC is a unique cohort with diversity that can be leveraged for exposomics-based studies. This study found that all 3 domains of the exposome had effects on the respiratory health of KABC children. Ongoing studies using phase 1 of the KABC continue to explore the internal exposome through allergy skin testing and epigenetic analyses and the specific external domain through in-home environmental analyses, air pollution modeling, and ultimately potential convergences within and among domains.
- Published
- 2017
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