Premium
Chlamydia pneumoniae infection predicts a reduced risk for subsequent atopic disease
Author(s) -
Normann Erik,
Gnarpe Judy,
Gnarpe Håkan,
Wettergren Björn
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2005.tb01968.x
Subject(s) - medicine , chlamydia , asthma , population , allergy , respiratory tract infections , respiratory tract , wheeze , chlamydophila pneumoniae , immunology , risk factor , logistic regression , respiratory system , chlamydiaceae , environmental health
Aim: To investigate long‐term effects on children previously infected with Chlamydia pneumoniae. Methods: A follow‐up questionnaire was sent to all participants from a former population‐based study in order to investigate health status during the 4 y that had elapsed between the two studies. In the original study, the prevalence of C. pneumoniae infection was 23% as determined by PCR analyses on throat swab specimens. These PCR results were found to have no detectable correlation for clinical disease. The main outcome measures in this follow‐up study were the reported prevalence of respiratory tract infections, asthma and allergy. Results: Approximately 83% completed the follow‐up questionnaire. No increase in respiratory tract infections was reported by children previously found to have C. pneumoniae infection. A diagnosis of allergy was more common in the former PCR‐negative population (13.4% vs 4.7%, p <0.03). The differences were most apparent in the population with atopic heredity. In a logistic regression model with different suggested risk factors for allergy, earlier infection with C. pneumoniae reduced the risk for allergy (OR=0.13; 95% CI: 0.02–0.99). This was not found for asthma. Conclusion: A positive PCR test for C. pneumoniae in young children was associated with a lower risk of developing allergic airway disease in this study population, and did not predict an increase in respiratory tract infections.