Early life patterns of common infection: a latent class analysis

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Published on: February 22, 2019

Sarah J Hepworth1, Graham R Law, Debbie A Lawlor

  • 1Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Leeds Institute of Genetics, Health and Therapeutics, University of Leeds, Room 8.49, Paediatric Epidemiology Group, Worsley Building, Clarendon Way, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. s.j.hepworth@leeds.ac.uk

European Journal of Epidemiology
|October 27, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Early childhood infections are linked to chronic diseases. This study identified five infection patterns in infants, finding that factors like siblings and breastfeeding influence risk. Understanding these patterns aids early disease prevention.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Epidemiology
  • Infectious Disease Patterns
  • Chronic Disease Etiology

Background:

  • Early life infections are associated with later chronic disease development, often assessed indirectly.
  • Parental questionnaires are used to gather data on infant infectious symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify distinct patterns of early childhood infections using latent class analysis.
  • To examine the relationship between identified infection patterns and demographic/lifestyle factors.

Main Methods:

  • Latent class analysis applied to infectious symptom data from 10,032 infants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
  • Infectious symptoms collected at 6 months via parental questionnaire.
  • Analysis of associations between infection classes and sex, siblings, maternal smoking, breastfeeding, and maternal education.

Main Results:

  • Five infant infection classes were identified: 'general infection', 'gastrointestinal', 'mild respiratory', 'colds/ear ache', and 'healthy'.
  • Females had lower risks across all infection classes.
  • Presence of other children in the home increased risk for 'general infection', 'mild respiratory', and 'colds/ear ache' classes.
  • Breastfeeding decreased risk for 'general infection' and 'gastrointestinal' classes; maternal smoking increased risk.
  • Higher maternal education was linked to increased risk in the 'mild respiratory' class.

Conclusions:

  • Latent class analysis effectively models multiple infant infection symptoms and their links to early life factors.
  • Siblings, breastfeeding, maternal smoking, and education are significant factors associated with infant infection patterns.
  • Findings highlight the importance of considering specific infection profiles and associated risk factors for chronic disease prevention.

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