Body build and atopy,☆☆,,★★

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METHODS

The analysis is based on a geographically defined 1-year birth cohort of 12,058 live births in northern Finland in 1966.4 In 1997, 8463 subjects who survived and were living in northern Finland or in the capital area were invited for a clinical examination, and 6025 (71.2%) attended. The sensitivity to the 3 most common allergens in Finland (ie, cat, birch, and timothy grass) and also to house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) were assessed by skin prick tests, together with histamine

RESULTS

Current atopy was positively associated with current BMI but negatively with maternal BMI and had a U-shaped association with ponderal index at birth (Table I).

. Adjusted effects of current BMI, ponderal index at birth, and maternal BMI on atopy at age 31 years

Empty CellEmpty CellCurrent BMI (kg/m2)*
≤24.8>24.8
Prevalence (%) Adjusted OR (95% CI)†Prevalence (%) Adjusted OR (95% CI)†
(n = 3003)(n = 2254)
Ponderal index at birth (100 g/cm3), in tertiles1st, <2.64 (n = 1751)30.435.5
1.23 (1.01-1.52)1.68 (1.33-2.11)
2nd,

DISCUSSION

The current results suggest that atopy is more common among those with large current BMI, who were born more lean or more obese than average, and those whose mothers had low BMI. To our knowledge, this is the first report of combined effect of maternal BMI as well as size at birth and current body build on atopy in adulthood. We do not know what could be the mechanisms underlying the observed associations. However, current obesity has been implicated as a risk factor of asthma.1, 2, 3 A

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    Birth weight, body mass index and asthma in young adults

    Thorax

    (1999)
  • SL Huang et al.

    Association between body mass index and allergy in teenage girls in Taiwan

    Clin Exp Allergy

    (1999)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (39)

  • Association of obesity with IgE levels and allergy symptoms in children and adolescents: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006

    2009, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
    Citation Excerpt :

    Huang et al6 found that Taiwanese teenage girls in the highest quintile of BMI were more likely to be atopic than girls in the middle 3 quintiles (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.15-2.73). Xu et al8 found atopy to be associated with current BMI among Finnish adults. Schachter et al7 combined data from 7 epidemiologic studies in Australian children and found that BMI was associated with atopic status among girls only.

  • Body mass index, respiratory function and bronchial hyperreactivity in allergic rhinitis and asthma

    2009, Respiratory Medicine
    Citation Excerpt :

    In contrast, another study provided evidence of lower risk of BHR21 and another survey reported less airflow obstruction in obese patients,22 even though obese patients reported more respiratory complaints and used more bronchodilator drugs than normal-weight patients. Other relevant issue is the relationship between BMI and allergic disorders: some studies reported a positive association even if not consistent, mainly concerning the gender relevance.23–27 BMI would seem to be an independent risk factor for allergy in females, but not in males.

  • Higher adiposity in infancy associated with recurrent wheeze in a prospective cohort of children

    2008, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
    Citation Excerpt :

    In this study we also found that WFL z score at 6 months was not associated with increased risk of having manifestations of atopy or with recurrent wheeze and atopy combined. Our findings are in contrast to those of previous studies among obese Taiwanese girls18 and obese Finish53,54 and Danish55 adults that found an association between higher BMI and increased atopy. Our results were limited by a small sample size of participants with nonmissing data on all variables.

  • Potential mechanisms connecting asthma, esophageal reflux, and obesity/sleep apnea complex-A hypothetical review

    2007, Sleep Medicine Reviews
    Citation Excerpt :

    The hypothesis that obesity could affect a person's atopic status, explaining its association with asthma, is yet to be confirmed or validated. Xu et al.30 found an association between atopy and BMI, but a large European study found no similar association.31 Simard et al.32 found the prevalence of atopy to be similar to that found in the general population.

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Supported by Finnish Academy, National Public Health Institute, and University of Oulu.

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Reprint requests: Baizhuang Xu, MD, PhD, Unit of Environmental Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, PO Box 95, 70701, Kuopio, Finland.

J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000;105:393-4.

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0091-6749/2000 $12.00 + 0  1/54/103420

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