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Published on: June 4, 2017
Prevalence of allergic disease in foreign-born American children
Jonathan I Silverberg1, Eric L Simpson, Helen G Durkin
1Department of Dermatology, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. jonathanisilverberg@gmail.com
Insights
Children born outside the U.S. have lower rates of allergic diseases like asthma and eczema. However, allergy prevalence increases significantly after a decade of U.S. residence.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Allergy Research
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Understanding allergic disease epidemiology is crucial for developing new treatments and prevention strategies.
- Childhood allergic diseases represent a significant public health concern globally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between birthplace in the United States and the prevalence of childhood allergic diseases.
- To evaluate the impact of prolonged residence in the United States on the development of allergic conditions in children.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to 91,642 children aged 0-17 years.
- Data were collected through the 2007-2008 National Survey of Children's Health.
- Key exposures included place of birth and duration of U.S. residence.
Main Results:
- Children born outside the U.S. exhibited significantly lower odds of atopic disorders compared to U.S.-born children (OR, 0.48).
- This protective association persisted across various allergic conditions, including asthma, eczema, hay fever, and food allergies, even after adjusting for multiple covariates.
- Prolonged U.S. residence (over 10 years) was associated with a substantially increased risk of developing allergic disorders (aOR, 3.04), particularly eczema and hay fever.
Conclusions:
- Children born outside the U.S. generally have a lower prevalence of allergic diseases.
- The risk of developing allergic diseases increases significantly after residing in the U.S. for approximately ten years.
- These findings highlight the potential role of environmental factors in the development of allergic diseases.
Importance:
Improved understanding of allergic disease epidemiology lead to novel therapeutic and prevention strategies.
Objectives:
To study the association between US birthplace and prevalence of childhood allergic disease and to determine the effects of prolonged US residence on allergic disease.
Design, Setting, Participants:
Cross-sectional questionnaire distributed to 91, 642 children aged 0 to 17 years enrolled in the 2007-2008 National Survey of Children's Health.
Exposure:
Place of birth.
Main Outcome And Measure:
Prevalence of allergic disease, including asthma, eczema, hay fever, and food allergies.
Results:
Children born outside the United States had significantly lower odds of any atopic disorders than those born in the United States (logistic regression OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.38-0.61), including ever-asthma (0.53; 0.39-0.72), current-asthma (0.34; 0.23-0.51), eczema (0.43; 0.30-0.61), hay fever (0.39; 0.27-0.55), and food allergies (0.60; 0.37-0.99). The associations between child's birthplace and atopic disorders remained significant in multivariate models including age, sex, race/ethnicity, annual household income, residence in metropolitan areas, and history of child moving to a new address. Children born outside the United States whose parents were also born outside the United States had significantly lower odds of any atopic disorders than those whose parents were born in the United States (P = .005). Children born outside the United States who lived in the United States for longer than 10 years when compared with those who resided for only 0 to 2 years had significantly higher odds of developing any allergic disorders (adjusted OR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.08-8.60), including eczema (4.93; 1.18-20.62; P = .03) and hay fever (6.25; 1.70-22.96) but not asthma or food allergies (P ≥ .06).
Conclusions And Relevance:
Children born outside the United States have a lower prevalence allergic disease that increases after residing in the United States for 1 decade.
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