The association of different enteroviruses with atopy and allergic
diseases in early childhood
Abstract
Background: Enterovirus (EV) infections, being among the most prevalent
viruses worldwide, have been associated with reduced risk of allergic
diseases. We sought to determine the association of EVs with allergic
sensitization and disease in early childhood. Methods: The study was
carried out in a nested case-control setting within a prospective birth
cohort in Finland. We included 138 case children who had specific IgE
(s-IgE) sensitization at the age of 5 years and 138 control children
without s-IgE sensitization. Allergic disease was recorded at study
visits and asked with ISAAC questionary. We screened for the presence of
serotype specific antibodies against 41 EVs at 1 to 5 years of age and
assessed their association with allergic sensitization and disease.
Results: The overall number of EV infections did not differ between
s-IgE-sensitized children and non-sensitized control children. However,
there was a tendency of case children with an allergic disease having
less EV infections than their controls. This observation was
statistically significant for species A EVs in case children with atopic
dermatitis vs. control children: OR 0.6 (95 % CI 0.36-0.99), P = 0.048.
Conclusion: This study supports the evidence that EV exposure and
development of allergic disease are inversely associated. Interestingly,
the inverse association was not observed for bare atopic IgE
sensitization, but for IgE sensitization coupled with clinical atopic
disease. This suggests that environmental factors influencing IgE
sensitization may differ from those influencing progression to clinical
allergic disease.