Family history and cord blood eosinophil count as predictors for atopic manifestations

The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation between several clinical parameters and the appearance of atopic manifestations (atopic eczema, food allergy, wheezing bronchitis, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis) in the first four years of life.

A total of 139 unselected full-term newborns were included in a prospective follow up from birth to age 4. Cord blood total immunoglobulin E (cIgE) and cord blood absolute eosinophil count (cEo), positive family history of allergy, maternal smoking during pregnancy, mode of delivery, and duration of exclusive and overall breastfeeding were evaluated as predictors for appearance of atopic manifestations.

We found that children with a positive family history of both mother and father are 19.03 times more likely to develop atopic manifestations and those with a positive family history of only mothers are 12.55 times more likely to develop atopy compared with children with a negative family history. Neonates with cord blood eosinophilia had 5.30 times higher chances for developing atopic manifestations. No statistically significant associations were found between cIgE (p = 0.099), mode of delivery (p = 0.379), maternal smoking (p = 0.661), exclusive (p = 0.867) and overall breastfeeding duration (p = 0.675) and the presence of atopic manifestations up to age 4.

A positive medical history, especially of mothers and cEo, seem to be predictive in screening for the onset of allergic diseases.