Niki Mitselou1, Jenny Hallberg2, Olof Stephansson3, Catarina Almqvist4, Erik Melén5, Jonas F Ludvigsson6. 1. Department of Pediatrics, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden. Electronic address: nikimitselou@gmail.com. 2. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Sachs' Children and Youth Hospital, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 3. Department of Medicine, Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 4. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. 5. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Sachs' Children and Youth Hospital, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden. 6. Department of Pediatrics, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Little is known about early-life risk factors for food allergy in children. OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between perinatal characteristics and future risk of food allergy in offspring. METHODS: This nationwide Swedish cohort study of 1,086,378 children born in Sweden in 2001-2012 used prospectively recorded data from health care registers. Using Cox regression, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for the association between perinatal characteristics (eg, cesarean delivery and preterm birth) and food allergy as defined by diagnoses in the National Patient Register, adjusting for infant sex and maternal factors (age at delivery, country of birth, parity, smoking, body mass index, and asthma/pulmonary disease). RESULTS: During the 13-year follow-up, 26,732 (2.5%) children were given a diagnosis of food allergy. Food allergy was positively associated with cesarean delivery (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.18-1.25), large for gestational age (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19), and low 5-minute Apgar score (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10-1.36) but negatively associated with very preterm birth (<32 weeks of gestation: HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.98). No association was found between food allergy and moderately preterm birth, low birth weight, or small for gestational age. Risk estimates were similar when the outcome was restricted to 2 records of diagnosed food allergy. In 1,000 children undergoing cesarean delivery, an extra 5 developed food allergy compared with the reference group, suggesting that 17% of food allergy in children born by means of cesarean delivery can be explained by this exposure (attributable fraction). CONCLUSIONS: Cesarean delivery was associated with increased risk of food allergy, whereas very preterm birth decreased risk.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about early-life risk factors for food allergy in children. OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between perinatal characteristics and future risk of food allergy in offspring. METHODS: This nationwide Swedish cohort study of 1,086,378 children born in Sweden in 2001-2012 used prospectively recorded data from health care registers. Using Cox regression, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for the association between perinatal characteristics (eg, cesarean delivery and preterm birth) and food allergy as defined by diagnoses in the National Patient Register, adjusting for infant sex and maternal factors (age at delivery, country of birth, parity, smoking, body mass index, and asthma/pulmonary disease). RESULTS: During the 13-year follow-up, 26,732 (2.5%) children were given a diagnosis of food allergy. Food allergy was positively associated with cesarean delivery (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.18-1.25), large for gestational age (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19), and low 5-minute Apgar score (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10-1.36) but negatively associated with very preterm birth (<32 weeks of gestation: HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.98). No association was found between food allergy and moderately preterm birth, low birth weight, or small for gestational age. Risk estimates were similar when the outcome was restricted to 2 records of diagnosed food allergy. In 1,000 children undergoing cesarean delivery, an extra 5 developed food allergy compared with the reference group, suggesting that 17% of food allergy in children born by means of cesarean delivery can be explained by this exposure (attributable fraction). CONCLUSIONS: Cesarean delivery was associated with increased risk of food allergy, whereas very preterm birth decreased risk.
Authors: Noel T Mueller; Suchitra K Hourigan; Diane E Hoffmann; Lauren Levy; Erik C von Rosenvinge; Betty Chou; Maria-Gloria Dominguez-Bello Journal: J Law Med Ethics Date: 2019-12 Impact factor: 1.718