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We assessed the accuracy of questionnaire reports of cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches in predicting measured allergen concentrations in house dust. We collected dust samples in the homes of 932 newborns living in New England. Dust samples were taken from the main living area and the infant's bedding. Allergen content of house dust was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and related to questionnaire information on past and current cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches. Allergen levels were dichotomized using the limit of detection and the following cut points: 1.0 μg/g and 8.0 μg/g for cat, 2.0 μg/g and 10.0 μg/g for dog, and 2 U/g and 8 U/g for cockroach allergen. For the upper cut point, both specificity and sensitivity of questionnaire-reported cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches were high. For the limit of detection and lower cut point, specificity was high (> 80%), whereas sensitivity was low, particularly for current cat and dog ownership (21–60%). Taking pet ownership during the preceding 2 years into account increased the sensitivity by 10%, but it remained relatively poor. In conclusion, questionnaire-reported pet ownership and presence of cockroaches predicts allergen levels above the upper cut point but is a relatively poor measure of allergen exposure above the limit of detection and the lower cut point. Knowledge of past pet ownership can improve pet allergen exposure assessment by means of questionnaire. However, for epidemiologic purposes, measured concentrations of allergens are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the effect of maternal infections during pregnancy on childhood asthma. One-thousand four-hundred and twenty-eight pregnant women were prospectively followed using structured interviews and chart review until their child's 6th year of life. Infections were identified from outpatient and hospital visits. Childhood asthma was defined as physician diagnosis with symptoms at age six. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated from multivariable logistic regression models. Six-hundred and thirty-five women experienced an infection during pregnancy. Among antepartum infections, maternal urinary tract infections were significantly associated with childhood asthma (aOR 1.60, 95 % CI 1.12-2.29). Chorioamnionitis and maternal group beta streptococcus colonization were not significantly associated with an increased risk in childhood asthma. This study found an increased risk of asthma in children of women diagnosed with urinary tract infections during pregnancy, while other maternal infections did not increase the risk.

Many studies have reported that antibiotic use may be associated with increased risk of childhood asthma. Respiratory tract infections in small children may be difficult to distinguish from early symptoms of asthma, and studies may have been confounded by "protopathic" bias, where antibiotics are used to treat early symptoms of asthma. These analyses of a cohort including 1,401 US children assess the association between antibiotic use within the first 6 months of life and asthma and allergy at 6 years of age between 2003 and 2007. Antibiotic exposure was associated with increased risk of asthma (adjusted odds ratio = 1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 2.16). The odds ratio if asthma was first diagnosed after 3 years of age was 1.66 (95% CI: 0.99, 2.79) and, in children with no history of lower respiratory infection in the first year of life, the odds ratio was 1.66 (95% CI: 1.12, 3.46). The adverse effect of antibiotics was particularly strong in children with no family history of asthma (odds ratio = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.00, 3.58) (P(interaction) = 0.03). The odds ratio for a positive allergy blood or skin test was 1.59 (95% CI: 1.10, 2.28). The results show that early antibiotic use was associated with asthma and allergy at 6 years of age, and that protopathic bias was unlikely to account for the main findings.

Background: Variants in the CD14 gene (CD14) are hypothesized to be associated with atopic disorders. However, most studies have only investigated one polymorphism in this gene., Objective: We sought to study the association of 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5' flanking region of CD14 with eczema and serum IgE levels in young children., Methods: We genotyped 5 SNPs in an approximately 6.5-kb region in the 5' region of CD14 in 344 2-year-old white children from 2 birth cohorts in the northeastern United States. We examined the relation of both single SNPs and haplotypes in CD14 with the atopic outcomes., Results: Two SNPs were significantly associated with eczema. In dominant models adjusted for potential confounders, SNP rs2569193 was associated with significantly decreased risk for eczema (odds ratio [OR] for CT/TT vs CC, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3-0.8), whereas SNP rs2569190 (also reported as the C-159T) was associated with significantly increased risk for eczema (OR for CT/TT vs CC, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.8). The CT/TT genotypes of SNP rs2569190 also had higher geometric means of serum IgE than the CC genotype (24.6 vs 15 IU/mL, P = .025). Haplotype analyses provided results similar to those of the single SNP analyses., Conclusions: Our results contradict previous reports that have found a protective effect of the T allele of SNP rs2569190 (C-159T) against atopic disorders. Nevertheless, these results confirm the importance of polymorphisms in CD14 in the development of atopy, and future studies of this gene region will need to account for linkage disequilibrium and environmental exposures unique to the study population.