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Prenatal and infant acetaminophen exposure, antioxidant gene polymorphisms, and childhood asthma

Seif O Shaheen1, Roger B Newson, Susan M Ring

  • 1Respiratory Epidemiology and Public Health Group, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. s.shaheen@qmul.ac.uk

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|November 6, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Maternal antioxidant gene variants may increase childhood asthma risk from prenatal acetaminophen exposure. Infant acetaminophen use showed no such genetic link, suggesting potential confounding factors.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Genetics
  • Pediatric Asthma Research

Background:

  • Prenatal and infant acetaminophen use is linked to childhood asthma.
  • Investigating gene-environment interactions can clarify causal links.
  • Antioxidant gene polymorphisms are potential modifiers of this risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine if antioxidant gene variations modify the association between acetaminophen exposure and childhood asthma.
  • To explore interactions between acetaminophen exposure (prenatal and infant) and specific antioxidant genotypes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (>4000 mothers, >5000 children).
  • Genotyped polymorphisms in nuclear erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) M1, T1, and P1.
  • Stratified analyses of acetaminophen exposure effects on asthma phenotypes by maternal and child genotypes.

Main Results:

  • Maternal Nrf2 T allele associated with increased asthma/wheezing risk from early acetaminophen exposure.
  • Maternal GSTT1 and GSTM1 presence linked to increased asthma/wheezing risk from late acetaminophen exposure.
  • Child genotype did not modify infant acetaminophen use effects; maternal GSTM1 presence amplified late-gestation exposure risks.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal antioxidant gene polymorphisms appear to modify prenatal acetaminophen's effect on childhood asthma.
  • This strengthens evidence for a causal link between prenatal acetaminophen and asthma.
  • Infant acetaminophen use associations with asthma/atopy were not genotype-modified, suggesting confounding.
Abstract

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