Allergy and acute leukaemia in children with Down syndrome: a population study. Report from the Mexican inter-institutional group for the identification of the causes of childhood leukaemia

BACKGROUND: Allergies have been described as protective factors against the development of childhood acute leukaemia (AL). Our objective was to investigate the associations between allergy history and the development of AL and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in children with Down syndrome (DS). METHODS: A case–control study was performed in Mexico City. The cases (n=97) were diagnosed at nine public hospitals, and the controls (n=222) were recruited at institutions for children with DS. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated. RESULTS: Asthma was positively associated with AL development (OR=4.18; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.47–11.87), whereas skin allergies were negatively associated (OR=0.42; 95% CI: 0.20–0.91). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that allergies and AL in children with DS share biological and immune mechanisms. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting associations between allergies and AL in children with DS.