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Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants

BACKGROUND: Breast-feeding may affect the risk of developing allergy during childhood and may also cause exposure to immunotoxicants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are of concern as marine pollutants in the Faroe Islands and the Arctic region. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to asses...

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Autores principales: Grandjean, Philippe, Poulsen, Lars K., Heilmann, Carsten, Steuerwald, Ulrike, Weihe, Pál
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957924/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20562055
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002289
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author Grandjean, Philippe
Poulsen, Lars K.
Heilmann, Carsten
Steuerwald, Ulrike
Weihe, Pál
author_facet Grandjean, Philippe
Poulsen, Lars K.
Heilmann, Carsten
Steuerwald, Ulrike
Weihe, Pál
author_sort Grandjean, Philippe
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Breast-feeding may affect the risk of developing allergy during childhood and may also cause exposure to immunotoxicants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are of concern as marine pollutants in the Faroe Islands and the Arctic region. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to assess whether sensitization and development of allergic disease is associated with duration of breast-feeding and prenatal or postnatal exposures to PCBs and methylmercury. METHODS: A cohort of 656 singleton births was formed in the Faroe Islands during 1999–2001. Duration of breast-feeding and history of asthma and atopic dermatitis were recorded at clinical examinations at 5 and 7 years of age. PCB and mercury concentrations were determined in blood samples obtained at parturition and at follow-up. Serum from 464 children (71%) at 7 years of age was analyzed for total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and grass-specific IgE. RESULTS: The total IgE concentration in serum at 7 years of age was positively associated both with the concomitant serum PCB concentration and with the duration of breast-feeding. However, the effect only of the latter was substantially attenuated in a multivariate analysis. A raised grass-specific IgE concentration compatible with sensitization was positively associated with the duration of breast-feeding and inversely associated with prenatal methylmercury exposure. However, a history of asthma or atopic dermatitis was not associated with the duration of breast-feeding, although children with atopic dermatitis had lower prenatal PCB exposures than did nonallergic children. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that developmental exposure to immunotoxicants may both increase and decrease the risk of allergic disease and that associations between breast-feeding and subsequent allergic disease in children may, at least in part, reflect lactational exposure to immunotoxic food contaminants.
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spelling pubmed-29579242010-10-21 Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants Grandjean, Philippe Poulsen, Lars K. Heilmann, Carsten Steuerwald, Ulrike Weihe, Pál Environ Health Perspect Research BACKGROUND: Breast-feeding may affect the risk of developing allergy during childhood and may also cause exposure to immunotoxicants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are of concern as marine pollutants in the Faroe Islands and the Arctic region. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to assess whether sensitization and development of allergic disease is associated with duration of breast-feeding and prenatal or postnatal exposures to PCBs and methylmercury. METHODS: A cohort of 656 singleton births was formed in the Faroe Islands during 1999–2001. Duration of breast-feeding and history of asthma and atopic dermatitis were recorded at clinical examinations at 5 and 7 years of age. PCB and mercury concentrations were determined in blood samples obtained at parturition and at follow-up. Serum from 464 children (71%) at 7 years of age was analyzed for total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and grass-specific IgE. RESULTS: The total IgE concentration in serum at 7 years of age was positively associated both with the concomitant serum PCB concentration and with the duration of breast-feeding. However, the effect only of the latter was substantially attenuated in a multivariate analysis. A raised grass-specific IgE concentration compatible with sensitization was positively associated with the duration of breast-feeding and inversely associated with prenatal methylmercury exposure. However, a history of asthma or atopic dermatitis was not associated with the duration of breast-feeding, although children with atopic dermatitis had lower prenatal PCB exposures than did nonallergic children. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that developmental exposure to immunotoxicants may both increase and decrease the risk of allergic disease and that associations between breast-feeding and subsequent allergic disease in children may, at least in part, reflect lactational exposure to immunotoxic food contaminants. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 2010-10 2010-06-20 /pmc/articles/PMC2957924/ /pubmed/20562055 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002289 Text en http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from EHP may be reprinted freely. Use of materials published in EHP should be acknowledged (for example, ?Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives?); pertinent reference information should be provided for the article from which the material was reproduced. Articles from EHP, especially the News section, may contain photographs or illustrations copyrighted by other commercial organizations or individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from the holder of the copyright.
spellingShingle Research
Grandjean, Philippe
Poulsen, Lars K.
Heilmann, Carsten
Steuerwald, Ulrike
Weihe, Pál
Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants
title Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants
title_full Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants
title_fullStr Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants
title_full_unstemmed Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants
title_short Allergy and Sensitization during Childhood Associated with Prenatal and Lactational Exposure to Marine Pollutants
title_sort allergy and sensitization during childhood associated with prenatal and lactational exposure to marine pollutants
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957924/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20562055
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002289
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