Basic and clinical immunologySex-related differences in immune development and the expression of atopy in early childhood
Section snippets
Study subjects
After obtaining written informed consent, 289 subjects were enrolled at birth in the Childhood Origins of Asthma (COAST) study at a single research site beginning in November 1998 and ending in May 200016; 285 of these were followed prospectively for at least 1 year, and 275 had completed the evaluation at year 3. At least 1 parent was required to have demonstrable aeroallergen sensitization (defined as one or more positive skin test responses), a history of physician-diagnosed asthma, or both
Patient population
Two hundred eighty-nine children were enrolled at birth, with 275 having complete data at year 3. The prevalence of risk factors by sex is presented in Table I. Other than boys being slightly heavier at birth, there were no differences between boys and girls with respect to parental allergy or asthma, presence of furred pets in the home, passive smoke exposure, day-care attendance, or duration of breast-feeding.
Sex and developmental cytokine response patterns
Median PHA-induced IFN-γ responses were 84% higher in boys when compared with those
Discussion
Boys are more likely to have a number of atopic syndromes in early childhood, including atopic dermatitis, allergic sensitization, and wheezing. In addition to confirming these observations in a birth cohort at increased risk for atopic disorders, our results provide novel evidence of distinct patterns of cytokine responses in boys and girls over the first 3 years of life and indicate that the magnitude and direction of these response profiles differ, depending on the outcome measure being
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Supported by National Institutes of Health grants 1R01HL61879-01 and 1P01HL70831-01.
Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: R. F. Lemanske, Jr, has consultant arrangements with GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca and is on the speakers' bureau for AstraZeneca, Aventis, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline. The rest of the authors have declared that they have no conflict of interest.