Science and Research

Development of atopic sensitization in Finnish and Estonian children: A latent class analysis in a multicenter cohort

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of atopy is associated with a Western lifestyle, as shown by studies comparing neighboring regions with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Atopy might reflect various conditions differing in their susceptibility to environmental factors. OBJECTIVE: We sought to define phenotypes of atopic sensitization in early childhood and examine their association with allergic diseases and hereditary background in Finland and Estonia. METHODS: The analysis included 1603 Finnish and 1657 Estonian children from the DIABIMMUNE multicenter young children cohort. Specific IgE levels were measured at age 3, 4, and 5 years, respectively, and categorized into 3 CAP classes. Latent class analysis was performed with the statistical software package poLCA in R software. RESULTS: Both populations differed in terms of socioeconomic status and environmental determinants, such as pet ownership, farm-related exposure, time spent playing outdoors, and prevalence of allergic diseases (all P < .001). Nevertheless, we found similar latent classes in both populations: an unsensitized class, a food class, 2 inhalant classes differentiating between seasonal and perennial aeroallergens, and a severe atopy class. The latter was characterized by high total and specific IgE levels and strongly associated with wheeze (odds ratio [OR], 5.64 [95% CI, 3.07-10.52] and 4.56 [95% CI, 2.35-8.52]), allergic rhinitis (OR, 22.4 [95% CI, 11.67-44.54] and 13.97 [95% CI, 7.33-26.4]), and atopic eczema (OR, 9.39 [95% CI, 4.9-19.3] and 9.5 [95% CI, 5.2-17.5] for Finland and Estonia, respectively). Environmental differences were reflected in the larger seasonal inhalant atopy class in Finland, although composition of classes was comparable between countries. CONCLUSION: Despite profound differences in environmental exposures, there might exist genuine patterns of atopic sensitization. The distribution of these patterns might determine the contribution of atopic sensitization to disease onset.
  • Schmidt, F.
  • Hose, A. J.
  • Mueller-Rompa, S.
  • Brick, T.
  • Hamalainen, A. M.
  • Peet, A.
  • Tillmann, V.
  • Niemela, O.
  • Siljander, H.
  • Knip, M.
  • Weber, J.
  • von Mutius, E.
  • Ege, M. J.
  • Diabimmune Study Group

Keywords

  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • IgE
  • Latent class analysis
  • allergy
  • atopy
  • diabetes type 1 risk
  • severe atopy
  • unsupervised clustering
  • wheezing
Publication details
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2018.12.1014
Journal: The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
Pages: 1904-1913 e9 
Number: 5
Work Type: Original
Location: CPC-M
Disease Area: AA
Partner / Member: LMU
Access-Number: 30682459
See publication on PubMed

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