A study of allergy development from exposure to prenatal antibiotics in the child.

摘要

A knowledge gap exists in the science of childhood allergy development, specifically the role of prenatal antibiotics. The prevalence of allergies among American children is great, causing a range of physiological reactions from hives to potentially fatal anaphylaxis. This study tested the hygiene hypothesis by analyzing how the use of prenatal antibiotics affects the risk of allergy development in childhood. Specific factors that were analyzed included exposure to antibiotics prenatally, age of the mother during pregnancy, and maternal and paternal allergy histories.;Guided by the constructs and variables within the conceptual framework, a cross sectional study has been conducted on children in the North Country region of New York State, using a primary caregiver, to analyze allergy development by age thirteen if there was prenatal antibiotic exposure. A cluster random sampling plan was used to collect a representative sample from the population. One hundred and seventy (170) subjects provided data for the analysis of the posed research questions. The sampling frame was high school students aged thirteen to eighteen in St. Lawrence County, New York. Data was collected using a questionnaire and then analyzed using Stata 12.;Bivariate analysis indicated significant relationships between allergy development and trimester (X2 = 9.39, p = 0.024) and paternal allergy (X2 = 6.01, p < 0.014). Logistic regression indicated significant relationships between childhood allergy and adjusted odds ratios for prenatal exposure in the chosen model (OR = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.01 -- 0.39), gender (OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.11 -- 0.83), mother's age during pregnancy (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.79 -- 0.97), maternal food allergy gender (OR = 8.95, 95% CI = 1.81 -- 44.31), paternal environmental allergy (OR = 10.35, 95% CI = 2.21 -- 48.23), and exposure during the second trimester (OR = 39.18, 95% CI = 2.67 -- 570.37). Using the predictors selected from the model established in logistic regression, a structural model has been developed.;The results suggest that the introduction of an antibiotic to the developing stages of a human can compromise the development of the immune system. The results of this study can provide a child's caregiver and healthcare provider the information to be proactive about the avoidance of potential harmful allergens, particularly if there are signs of the "allergic march."