Asthma and atopy in farmers' children and their parents

The aims of this project are:

1. To measure the prevalence of respiratory symptoms (with the focus on asthma) in farmers' children and their parents, and in a comparison group from a non-farming population (Phase I).
2. To compare the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in children and parents in various types of farming (dairy, sheep & beef, and crop farming) (Phase I).
3. To measure the prevalence of atopy in a sample of children and their parents (farming and non-farming) in order to ascertain whether any protective effect of farming involves atopic mechanisms (Phase II).
4. To measure relevant environmental exposure in a sample of households (farming and non-farming) including house dust allergen and endotoxin, and to examine their association with the occurrence of atopy and asthma, while adjusting for other risk factors for asthma (Phase II).
5. To study the immune status of babies born on farms, and control babies (Phase III).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Brooks C, Brogan S, van Dalen C, Lampshire P, Crane J, Douwes J. Measurement of Exhaled Nitric Oxide in a General Population Sample: A Comparison of the Medisoft HypAir FENO and Aerocrine NIOX Analyzers. J Asthma, 2011; 48(4): 324-8.
Douwes J, Brooks C, Pearce N. Protective effects of farming on allergies and asthma: have we learnt anything since 1873? Expert Rev Clin Immunol, 2009; 5(3): 213-9.
Simpson J, Brooks C, Douwes J. Innate immunity in asthma. Paediatr Respir Rev, 2008; 9(4): 263-70.
Brooks C, Pearce N, Douwes J. The hygiene hypothesis in allergy and asthma: an update. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol, 2013; 13(1): 70-77.
Douwes J, Brooks C, van Dalen C, Pearce N. Importance of allergy in asthma: an epidemiologic perspective. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep, 2011; 11(5): 434-44.
Brooks C, Siebers R, Crane J, Noss I, Wouters I, Sander I, Raulf-Heimsoth M, Thorne P, Metwali N, Douwes J. Measurement of β-(1,3)-glucan in household dust samples using Limulus amebocyte assay and enzyme immunoassays: an inter-laboratory comparison. Environ Sci Process Impacts, 2013; 15(2): 405-411.