Children of allergy sufferers 'also prone' to the problem
Parents with allergies could have children who develop them at an early stage
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Thursday, 12, Oct 2006 04:35
Children whose parents suffer from allergies have a greater risk of developing them earlier in life than previously thought, new research claims.
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati argue that as a result of their findings, skin testing for airborne allergens should be carried out before the age of four or five to ensure that children in this high-risk group can be monitored at an early stage for the possibility of later allergic respiratory disease.
Scientists collected data from 680 children being evaluated for enrolment in the Cincinnati childhood allergy and air pollution study and compared their findings with results from a 2004 study conducted in Sweden.
The Swedish group found that in their general population, which included children whose parents do not suffer from allergies, seven per cent had allergic sensitivity at the age of one.
But in the Cincinnati results, 28.4 per cent of children born to parents with allergies were sensitive to one or more airborne food allergens and18 per cent were positive to one or more of the allergens.
Dr Grace LeMasters, lead author of the study, said that the potential for allergic disorders is infancy is underemphasised, even though "sensitisation to allergens at younger ages has been shown to be more important than sensitisation in late childhood for the development of wheezing symptoms and asthma".
According to the World Health Organisation (Who), asthma and allergies throughout Europe have increased over the last few decades, with roughly ten per cent of children suffering from asthmatic symptoms.