These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Hay fever, asthma and number of older siblings--a twin study.
    Author: Räsänen M, Laitinen T, Kaprio J, Koskenvuo M, Laitinen LA.
    Journal: Clin Exp Allergy; 1997 May; 27(5):515-8. PubMed ID: 9179425.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that allergic sensitization is inversely related to the number of siblings in the family. OBJECTIVES: To study whether a similar relation can be observed for hay fever and asthma among Finnish adolescents in a population with relatively low prevalence of atopic diseases. METHODS: A questionnaire mailed to a nationwide sample of 1849 families with 16-year-old twins assessing the cumulative incidence of doctor-diagnosed hay fever and asthma among the adolescents and the number of older siblings in the family by parental report. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of hay fever was significantly lower among the adolescents with three or more older siblings (3.9%, 95% CI = 1.2-6.5%) compared with adolescents with fewer older siblings (12.7%, 95% CI = 11.4-14.0%). There was no difference in the cumulative incidence of asthma among the adolescents according to the number of older siblings in the family. CONCLUSIONS: Large number of older siblings appears to be protective against the development of hay fever.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]