Table 1.
Studies that investigated atopic sensitization as a risk factor for the development of asthma in childhood.
| No. | Reference | Study population | Indicator of atopic sensitization | Age of asthma diagnosis | Measured associations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alduraywish et al. (30) | Two independent birth cohorts (1) the high risk MACS cohort and (2) the population-based LISAplus cohort | (1) MACS cohort: SPTs to food and inhalant allergens at 6, 12, and 24 months (2) LISApluscohort: sIgE to food and inhalant allergens at 2 years |
10–12 years | The strongest effect on asthma risk was found in both cohorts, in subjects with co-sensitization to food allergens and aeroallergens |
| 2 | Boersma et al. (31) | 166 children who visited a hospital with wheezing at the age 12–48 months | sIgE antibodies to inhalants allergens at the age of 12–48 months | At least 6 years | Sensitization to inhalant allergens has a positive predictive value of 86% for asthma. It remained a strong predictor for asthma even in multivariate analysis model |
| 3 | Anderson et al. (32) | Birth cohort, 289 newborns at high risk for asthma | sIgE antibodies to inhalant allergens at the age of 2, 6, and 11 years | 6 and 11 years | Sensitization to aeroallergen at 2 years triples the risk of asthma at 6 years and at 11 years |
| 4 | Gabet et al. (33) | Birth cohort, 3,860 full term healthy singletons | sIgE antibodies to food and inhalant allergens at the age of 18 months | 6 years | Current symptoms of asthma were significantly more frequent in children who were mono- or pauci-sensitized or multi-sensitized |
| 5 | Amin et al. (34) | Birth cohort, 762 newborns with a parent with a positive SPT to at least 1/15 aeroallergen, living either <400 m or >1,500 m from a major road | SPTs to aeroallergens, cow’s milk and hen’s egg at the age of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 years | 7 years | Sensitization to >1 aeroallergen at 12 months of age or at 3 years was more frequent among children with asthma at 7 years. The same was true for sensitization to egg, but not for sensitization to cow’s milk |
| 6 | Rø et al. (35) | Subpopulation of a birth cohort, 668 children evaluated at 2 years of age from the PACT study birth cohort | sIgE antibodies and SPT to nine allergens at 2 years of age | 6 years | Positive sIgE was associated with a significantly increased risk for asthma at the age of 6 years in the unadjusted for confounders model |
| 7 | van der Mark et al. (36) | A cohort of 771 children, aged 1–5 years, who visited primary care clinics during the preceding 12 months with complaints of recurrent coughing, wheezing, and/or shortness of breath | sIgE antibodies to dog, cat, HDM | 6 years | Positive sIgE doubled the risk for asthma diagnosis at the age of 6 years |
| 8 | Stoltz et al. (37) | Birth cohort, 289 newborns at high risk for asthma and allergic disease development | sIgE antibodies to aeroallergens at the age of 1, 3, 6, and 9 years | 6 and 8 years | At the age of 1 year, only sensitization to dog and to cat was significantly associated with asthma risk. At the age of 3 years, sensitization to any perennial allergen was associated with asthma risk |
| 9 | Llanora et al. (38) | Cohort study, 78 preschool children 2–5 years with at least one wheezing episode | SPTs to HDM | 8–14 years | Children with positive SPT had a twofold higher risk for persistent wheezing at the age 8–14 years |
| 10 | Amat et al. (39) | 541 infants under 36 months of age who had a history of at least three wheezing episodes | sIgE antibodies to food and inhalant allergens | 13 years | Allergen polysensitization (irrespective of the type of allergen), sensitization to multiple aeroallergens and to multiple food allergens were all associated with persistent active asthma |
| 11 | Lodge et al. (40) | Birth cohort, 620 infants with a family history of asthma/eczema/allergic rhinitis/severe food allergy | SPTs to food allergens and aeroallergens at the age of 6, 12, and 24 months | 12 years | Sensitization to HDM at the age of 12 and 24 months increased the odds for asthma at 12 years |
| 12 | Vial Dupuy et al. (41) | 200 children who visited a pediatric pulmonology clinic with recurrent wheezing as infants (<2 years) | sIgE antibodies to food allergens and inhalant allergens | 6 years | Polysensitization increased the odds for persistent asthma at 6 years of age |
| 13 | Caudri et al. (42) | Subpopulation of the PIAMA birth cohort, 848 children who were invited at the age of 3–4 years. For evaluation, they had at least one respiratory symptom suggestive of asthma | sIgE antibodies to inhalant allergens | 5–8 years | A positive sIgE to any airborne allergen increased the odds for wheezing at the age of 8 years |
| 14 | Lødrup Carlsen et al. (43) | Nested case–control study, 265 children, 2 years old with recurrent (>2 episodes) or persistent (>4 weeks duration) doctor confirmed bronchial obstruction, and 251 controls without bronchial obstruction | sIgE antibodies to food and inhalant allergens | 10 years | The probability of current asthma at 10 years of age increased with increasing levels of sIgE antibodies to a mix of allergens measured at 2 years of age. This finding was significant only for boys |
| 15 | Simpson et al. (44) | A population-based birth cohort (Manchester Asthma and Allergy Study), 1,186 participants who were recruited at birth and followed at ages 1, 3, 5, and 8 years | sIgE antibodies and SPTs to food and inhalant allergens | 8 years | Multiple early atopic sensitization was strongly associated with current wheeze at the age of 8 years. This type of sensitization predicts not only the presence but also the persistence of asthma |
| 16 | Marenholz et al. (45) | 1,314 children of German MAS birth cohort | sIgE antibodies to food allergens | 7, and/or 10, and/or 13 years | Food sensitization increased the odds for asthma |
| 17 | Jackson et al. (46) | Birth cohort, 289 newborns with at least one parent with one or more positive aeroallergen SPT and/or a history of physician diagnosed asthma | sIgE to aeroallergens and food allergens at 1 and 3 years of age, plus SPTs to 12 aeroallergens at 5 years of age | 6 years of age | Aeroallergen sensitization at the age of 1 and 3 years was associated with increased risk for asthma at the age of 6 years |
| 18 | Devulapalli et al. (47) | Nested case–control study Children aged 2 years, 265 cases with recurrent or persistent doctor confirmed bronchial obstruction and 251 controls (the same population as in study No. 14) |
SPTs to food allergens and aeroallergens at the age of 2 years | 10 years | Atopic sensitization at the age of 2 years did not differ between asthmatic and non-asthmatic children at the age of 10 years |
| 19 | Just et al. (48) | A cohort of 219 infants <30 months with recurrent wheezing episodes | sIgE antibodies to aeroallergens and food allergens | 6 years | In univariate analysis, allergic sensitization to at least one component of tested allergens was associated with persistence of wheezing at the age of 6 years. Absence of eosinophilia in combination with absence of allergic sensitization discriminated correctly 96% of children with wheezing in remission |
| 20 | Piippo-Savolainen et al. (49) | A cohort of 83 children <2 years who were hospitalized for bronchiolitis | sIgE antibodies to aeroallergens | 8.5–10 and 13.5–15 years | Early sensitization to seasonal pollens was associated with asthma at the age of 13.5–16 years |
| 21 | Eysink et al. (50) | Cohort study, 752 children 1–4 years who had visited GP complaining for cough for at least the preceding 5 days | sIgE antibodies to cat, dog, and HDM | 6 years | Sensitization by the age of 4 years was a prognostic indicator of asthma |
| 22 | Arshad et al. (51) | Whole population birth cohort in the Isle of Wight, 1,456 newborns | SPTs to aeroallergens and food allergens | 10 years | Asthma was associated with positive SPT at the age of 4 years |
| 23 | Kotaniemi-Syrjänen et al. (52) | A cohort of 100 infants aged 1–23 months who were hospitalized with infection-related wheezing | sIgE antibodies to aeroallergens and food allergens | 5.6–8.8 years | Positive sIgE (>0.35 kU/L) to aeroallergens was associated with the risk of school age asthma. The same was true for sIgE positive test to a mixture of food allergens but with a cut off value of 0.70 kU/L |
| 24 | Illi et al. (53) | 1,314 children of German MAS birth cohort | sIgE antibodies to food allergens and aeroallergens at 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 years of age | 7 years | Transient sensitization was not a risk factor for asthma at the age of 7 years. Children with persistent sensitization had increased risk for asthma at the age of 7 years provided that there was a positive parental history of asthma or atopy |
SPT, skin prick test; HDM, house dust mite; BHR, bronchial hyperresponsiveness; sIgE, serum immunoglobulin E (IgE); OR, odds ratio; CI: 95% confidence interval.