Search

Background: Previous literature has indicated that environmental exposures in childhood influence development of atopic sensitization., Objective: We sought to study the association between childhood environment and adult atopy., Methods: Thirteen thousand nine hundred thirty-two subjects aged 20 to 44 years from 36 areas in Europe, New Zealand, the United States, and Australia took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, answering interviewer-led questionnaires and providing blood tests for measurement of specific IgE to grass, house dust mite, cat, and Cladosporium allergens., Results: Atopy was negatively associated with family size (OR = 0. 93; 95% CI = 0.90-0.96 per 1 sib), partly attributable to an independent protective effect of a greater number of brothers (OR = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.89-0.95 per 1 brother). Accounting for total number of siblings, no further influence was detected for number of older or younger siblings. Bedroom sharing was associated with a lower prevalence of atopy, particularly to cat allergen. A protective effect of family size and bedroom sharing could only be detected in subjects reporting no parental allergy (family size, test for interaction P =.012). The presence of a dog in the home in childhood was negatively associated with adult atopy (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0. 78-0.92), an effect that remained after adjustment for parental allergy, sibling allergy, and adult pet ownership., Conclusion: Subjects from large families with brothers, shared bedrooms, and dogs in childhood were less often atopic as adults. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that infectious agents could inhibit development of atopy during childhood. However, in subjects with a strong genetic predisposition, environmental factors in childhood are possibly of less importance.

Fruiting bodies of larger basidiomycetous fungi were collected over a 15 month period from natural habitats and a total of 67 different antigenic extracts were prepared from spores or tissue, in buffered saline, pH8, and standardised at 1:50 and 1:10 (W/V) concentrations. A number of heterogeneous and diagnosed allergic patients were tested by skin prick test method with the extracts of either individual species or mixtures of related species. Up to 22% patients reacted positively, indicating their possible IgE mediated reactions and the allergenic potency of the species involved. The potential allergenicity of many of these genera and/or species has not been reported previously. The findings suggest that basidiospores could be a possible major factor for the high respiratory allergy incidence in the Auckland region and necessitate further investigation.

Ganoderma fungal spores are a major component of the Auckland air-spora. Previous studies of ganoderma involvement in allergic asthma and rhinitis were extended by locating the sporophores (fruiting bodies) in the Auckland area and systematically collecting the ejected spores. Maximum production by one sporophore was 5 gram dry weight of spores in one week, equivalent to 11 billion spores. We have estimated that between 400 and 1200 sporophores would account for previously reported levels of ganoderma spores collected from the air by Burkhard spore traps. Both whole spores and extracts of spores were strongly immunogenic in rabbits. Of the 115 asthma patients who were skin prick tested with a variety of fungal extracts, 32 (28%) were positive to one or more fungi. Of these, 18 (16%) reacted positively to ganoderma extracts. A theory proposing how ganoderma might contribute to allergic hyperreactivity in susceptible patients is developed.