Lack of Consistent Association between Asthma, Allergic Diseases, and Intestinal Helminth Infection in School-Aged Children in the Province of Bengo, Angola
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15513628 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Margarete Arrais (0000-0001-6611-4260), Ofélia Lulua, Francisca Quifica, José Rosado‐Pinto (Hospital da Luz), Jorge Gama (0000-0003-3926-580X, University of Beira Interior), Philip J Cooper (0000-0002-6770-6871, St George's, University of London), Luís Taborda‐Barata (0000-0001-6649-8890, University of Beira Interior, corresponding author), Miguel Brito (0000-0001-6394-658X, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 11 |
| Pages | 6156-6156 |
| Publication date | 2021-06-07 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph18116156 |
| PMID | 34200291 |
| OpenAlex | W3170914195 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
Epidemiological studies have shown conflicting findings on the relationship between asthma, atopy, and intestinal helminth infections. There are no such studies from Angola; therefore, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between asthma, allergic diseases, atopy, and intestinal helminth infection in Angolan schoolchildren. We performed a cross-sectional study of schoolchildren between September and November 2017. Five schools (three urban, two rural) were randomly selected. Asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema were defined by appropriate symptoms in the previous 12 months: atopy was defined by positive skin prick tests (SPT) or aeroallergen-specific IgE; intestinal helminths were detected by faecal sample microscopy. In total, 1023 children were evaluated (48.4% female; 57.6% aged 10-14 years; 60.5% urban). Asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, or eczema were present in 9%, 6%, and 16% of the studies children, respectively. Only 8% of children had positive SPT, but 64% had positive sIgE. Additionally, 40% were infected with any intestinal helminth ( A. lumbricoides 25.9%, T. trichiura 7.6%, and H. nana 6.3%). There were no consistent associations between intestinal helminth infections and asthma, allergic diseases, or atopy, except for A. lumbricoides, which was inversely associated with rhinoconjuctivitis and directly associated with aeroallergen-specific IgE. We concluded that, overall, intestinal helminth infections were not consistently associated with allergic symptoms or atopy. Future, preferably longitudinal, studies should collect more detailed information on helminth infections as part of clusters of environmental determinants of allergies
Aeroallergen · Allergen · Allergy · Ascaris lumbricoides · Asthma · Atopy · Environmental health · Helminth infections · Helminthiasis · Helminths · Immunoglobulin E · Asthma and respiratory diseases · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Medicine · Parasites and Host Interactions · Epidemiology · Immunology · Internal Medicine
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |