ArticleAllergy2014
Quantity and diversity of environmental microbial exposure and development of asthma: a birth cohort study.
Article in Allergy, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Molecular Study from the Signaling Pathways of Four PotentialInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Associations Between Indoor Fungal Community Structures and Environmental Factors: Insights from the Evidence-Driven Indoor Air-Quality Improvement Study.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effect of mothers' health literacy on early childhood allergy prevention behaviours: results from the KUNO-Kids health study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The Role of Biodiversity in the Development of Asthma and Allergic Sensitization: A State-of-the-Science Review.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Review
- Identification of environmental Actinobacteria in buildings by means of chemotaxonomy, 16S rRNA sequencing, and MALDI-TOF MS.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Fungi in Early-Life House Dust Samples and the Development of Asthma: A Birth Cohort Study.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2023Article
- Pathogenesis of allergic diseases and implications for therapeutic interventions.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2023Review
- Early exposure to farm dust in an allergic airway inflammation rabbit model: Does it affect bronchial and cough hyperresponsiveness?PloS one · 2023Article
- Indoor bacterial and fungal aerosols as predictors of lower respiratory tract infections among under-five children in Ibadan, Nigeria.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2022Article
- Indoor microbiome, microbial and plant metabolites, chemical compounds, and asthma symptoms in junior high school students: a multicentre association study in Malaysia.The European respiratory journal · 2022Article
- Indoor microbiome and allergic diseases: From theoretical advances to prevention strategies.Eco-Environment & Health · 2022Review
- S3 guideline Allergy Prevention.Allergologie select · 2022Article
- The Environmental Relative Moldiness Index reveals changes in mold contamination in United States homes over time.Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene · 2021Article
- Indoor Microbial Exposures and Chronic Lung Disease: From Microbial Toxins to the Microbiome.Clinics in chest medicine · 2020Review
- Household dampness and microbial exposure related to allergy and respiratory health in Danish adults.European clinical respiratory journal · 2020Article
- Early life home microbiome and hyperactivity/inattention in school-age children.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Farm-like indoor microbiota in non-farm homes protects children from asthma development.Nature medicine · 2019Article
- The Function and Alteration of Immunological Properties in Human Milk of Obese Mothers.Nutrients · 2019Review
- Pathophysiology of eosinophilic esophagitis: recent advances and their clinical implications.Expert review of clinical immunology · 2019Review
- Microbial Exchange via Fomites and Implications for Human Health.Current pollution reports · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEarly-life exposure to environmental microbial agents may be associated with the development of allergies. The aim of the study was to identify better ways to characterize microbial exposure as a predictor of respiratory symptoms and allergies.
methodsA birth cohort of 410 children was followed up until 6 years of age. Bacterial endotoxin, 3-hydroxy fatty acids, N-acetyl-muramic acid, fungal extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) from Penicillium and Aspergillus spp., β-D-glucan, ergosterol, and bacterial or fungal quantitative polymerase chain reactions (qPCRs) were analyzed from dust samples collected at 2 months of age. Asthma, wheezing, cough, and atopic dermatitis were assessed using repeated questionnaires. Specific IgEs were determined at the age of 1 and 6 years.
resultsOnly few associations were found between single microbial markers and the studied outcomes. In contrast, a score for the total quantity of microbial exposure, that is, sum of indicators for fungi (ergosterol), Gram-positive (muramic acid) bacteria, and Gram-negative (endotoxin) bacteria, was significantly (inverted-U shape) associated with asthma incidence (P < 0.001): the highest risk was found at medium levels (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.24, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.87-5.75 for 3rd quintile) and the lowest risk at the highest level (aOR 0.34, 95% CI 0.09-1.36 for 5th quintile). The microbial diversity score, that is, sum of detected qPCRs, was inversely associated with risk of wheezing and was significantly (inverted-U shape) associated with sensitization to inhalant allergens.
conclusionScore for quantity of microbial exposure predicted asthma better than single microbial markers independently of microbial diversity and amount of dust. Better indicators of total quantity and diversity of microbial exposure are needed in studies on the development of asthma.
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