National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.
Institute of Earth Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
Epidemiol Health. 2022;44:e2022099. doi: 10.4178/epih.e2022099. Epub 2022 Oct 28.
This study investigated the association between allergen sensitization and current asthma in children in the United States using data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Children who participated in the 2005-2006 NHANES, aged 6 years to 19 years, were included in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to assess asthma status (without asthma, asthma in remission, or current asthma). Nineteen specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels were measured using the Pharmacia Diagnostics ImmunoCAP 1000 System (Kalamazoo, MI, USA). A machine-learning method was applied to select important sIgEs related to childhood asthma. Multivariate regression analysis was used to test this hypothesis.
In total, 2,875 children were recruited. The prevalence of ever having asthma and current asthma was 16.5% and 5.6%, respectively. Six sIgE levels were found to contribute to asthma using bootstrap forest selection. After adjusting for the child's sex, age, and family income, children with double the sIgE levels of Dermatophagoides farinae, dogs, and Aspergillus were more likely to have current asthma than children without asthma (odds ratio [95% confident interval]: 1.11 [1.04 to 1.19], 1.30 [1.16 to 1.46], and 1.55 [1.39 to 1.72], respectively).
Our findings suggest that allergen sensitization, especially to Aspergillus, is associated with current asthma in children. Strategies to reduce sensitization may help prevent and manage asthma.
本研究使用 2005-2006 年全国健康和营养检查调查（NHANES）的数据，调查了美国儿童过敏原致敏与当前哮喘之间的关系。
本研究纳入了参加 2005-2006 年 NHANES 的年龄在 6 至 19 岁的儿童。使用结构化问卷评估哮喘状况（无哮喘、哮喘缓解或当前哮喘）。使用 Pharmacia Diagnostics ImmunoCAP 1000 系统（美国密歇根州卡拉马祖）测量 19 种特异性免疫球蛋白 E（sIgE）水平。应用机器学习方法选择与儿童哮喘相关的重要 sIgE。采用多变量回归分析检验该假设。
共招募了 2875 名儿童。曾患哮喘和当前哮喘的患病率分别为 16.5%和 5.6%。使用引导森林选择法发现 6 种 sIgE 水平与哮喘有关。在调整儿童性别、年龄和家庭收入后，与无哮喘儿童相比，双份粉尘螨、狗和曲霉菌 sIgE 水平的儿童更有可能患有当前哮喘（比值比[95%置信区间]：1.11[1.04 至 1.19]、1.30[1.16 至 1.46]和 1.55[1.39 至 1.72]）。
我们的研究结果表明，过敏原致敏，尤其是对曲霉菌的致敏，与儿童当前哮喘有关。减少致敏的策略可能有助于预防和管理哮喘。
