TY - JOUR
T1 - Helicobacter pylori colonization is inversely associated with childhood asthma
AU - Chen, Yu
AU - Blaser, Martin J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Received 8 January 2008; accepted 5 March 2008; electronically published 3 July 2008. Potential conflicts of interest: none reported. Presented in part: 45th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, San Diego, CA, October 2007 (abstract LB-1). Financial support: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (grant ES000260); National Cancer Institute (grant CA016087); National Institutes of Health (grant RO1GM63270); The Diane Belfer Program in Human Microbial Ecology; Ellison Medical Foundation (Senior Scholar Award). Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Martin J. Blaser, Dept. of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Ave., OBV A-606, New York, NY 10016 ([email protected]).
PY - 2008/8/15
Y1 - 2008/8/15
N2 - Background. Asthma, a serious health problem worldwide, is becoming more common. Colonization with Helicobacter pylori, a major human indigenous (commensal) microbe, during early life may be relevant to the risk of childhood asthma. Methods. We conducted cross-sectional analyses, using data from 7412 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000, to assess the association between H. pylori and childhood asthma. Results. H. pylori seropositivity was inversely associated with onset of asthma before 5 years of age and current asthma in children aged 3-13 years. Among participants 3-19 years of age, the presence of H. pylori was inversely related to ever having had asthma (odds ratio [OR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45-1.06), and the inverse association with onset of asthma before 5 years of age was stronger (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38-0.88). Among participants 3-13 years of age, H. pylori positivity was significantly inversely associated with current asthma (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.24-0.69). H. pylori seropositivity also was inversely related to recent wheezing, allergic rhinitis, and dermatitis, eczema, or rash. Conclusions. This study is the first to report an inverse association between H. pylori seropositivity and asthma in children. The findings indicate new directions for research and asthma prevention.
AB - Background. Asthma, a serious health problem worldwide, is becoming more common. Colonization with Helicobacter pylori, a major human indigenous (commensal) microbe, during early life may be relevant to the risk of childhood asthma. Methods. We conducted cross-sectional analyses, using data from 7412 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000, to assess the association between H. pylori and childhood asthma. Results. H. pylori seropositivity was inversely associated with onset of asthma before 5 years of age and current asthma in children aged 3-13 years. Among participants 3-19 years of age, the presence of H. pylori was inversely related to ever having had asthma (odds ratio [OR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45-1.06), and the inverse association with onset of asthma before 5 years of age was stronger (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38-0.88). Among participants 3-13 years of age, H. pylori positivity was significantly inversely associated with current asthma (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.24-0.69). H. pylori seropositivity also was inversely related to recent wheezing, allergic rhinitis, and dermatitis, eczema, or rash. Conclusions. This study is the first to report an inverse association between H. pylori seropositivity and asthma in children. The findings indicate new directions for research and asthma prevention.
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U2 - 10.1086/590158
DO - 10.1086/590158
M3 - Article
C2 - 18598192
AN - SCOPUS:48249118401
SN - 0022-1899
VL - 198
SP - 553
EP - 560
JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Journal of Infectious Diseases
IS - 4
ER -