Vitamin D deficiency and asthma are common conditions that share risk factors such as African American ethnicity, inner-city residence, and obesity. This review provides a critical examination of current experimental and epidemiologic evidence of a causal association between vitamin D status and asthma or asthma morbidity, including potential protective mechanisms such as antiviral effects and enhanced steroid responsiveness. Because most published epidemiologic studies of vitamin D and asthma or asthma morbidity are observational, a recommendation for or against vitamin D supplementation as preventive or secondary treatment for asthma is not advisable and must await results of ongoing clinical trials. Should these trials confirm a beneficial effect of vitamin D, others will be needed to assess the role of vitamin D supplementation to prevent or treat asthma in different groups such as infants, children of school age, and ethnic minorities.

Background

Atopy and plasma IgE concentration are genetically complex traits, and the specific genetic risk factors that lead to IgE dysregulation and clinical atopy are an area of active investigation.

Objective

To ascertain the genetic risk factors which lead to IgE dysregulation.

Methods

A genome wide association study (GWAS) was performed in 6,819 participants from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Seventy of the top SNPs were selected based on p-values and linkage disequilibrium among neighboring SNPs and evaluated in a meta-analysis with five independent populations from the KORA, B58C, and CAMP cohorts.

Results

Thirteen SNPs located in the region of three genes, FCER1A, STAT6, and IL-13, were found to have genome-wide significance in the FHS GWAS. The most significant SNPs from the three regions were rs2251746 (FCER1A, p-value 2.11×10-12), rs1059513 (STAT6, p-value 2.87×10-08), and rs1295686 (IL-13, p-value 3.55×10-08). Four additional gene regions - HLA-G, HLA-DQA2, HLA-A, and DARC - reached genome-wide statistical significance in meta-analysis combining FHS and replication cohorts, although the DARC association did not appear independent of SNPs in the nearby FCER1A gene.

Conclusion

This GWAS of the FHS has identified genetic loci in HLA genes that may have a role in the pathogenesis of IgE dysregulation and atopy. It also confirmed the association of known susceptibility loci, FCER1A, STAT6, and IL-13, for the dysregulation of total IgE.

Background

It has recently been shown that vitamin D deficiency can increase asthma development and severity and that variations in vitamin D receptor genes are associated with asthma susceptibility.

Objective

We sought to find genetic factors that might interact with vitamin D levels to affect the risk of asthma exacerbation. Methods: We conducted a genome-wide study of gene–vitamin D interaction on asthma exacerbations using population-based and family-based approaches on 403 subjects and trios from the Childhood Asthma Management Program. Twenty-three polymorphisms with significant interactions were studied in a replication analysis in 584 children from a Costa Rican cohort. Results: We identified 3 common variants in the class I MHC–restricted T cell–associated molecule gene (CRTAM) that were associated with an increased rate of asthma exacerbations based on the presence of a low circulating vitamin D level. These results were replicated in a second independent population (unadjusted combined interaction, P =.00028–.00097; combined odds ratio, 3.28–5.38). One variant, rs2272094, is a nonsynonymous coding polymorphism of CRTAM. Functional studies on cell lines confirmed the interaction of vitamin D and rs2272094 on CRTAM expression. CRTAM is highly expressed in activated human CD8+ and natural killer T cells, both of which have been implicated in asthmatic patients.

Conclusion

The findings highlight an important gene-environment interaction that elucidates the role of vitamin D and CD8+ and natural killer T cells in asthma exacerbation in a genome-wide gene-environment interaction study that has been replicated in an independent population. The results suggest the potential importance of maintaining adequate vitamin D levels in subsets of high-risk asthmatic patients.

Purpose of the review

To critically assess recently published literature on predicting asthma exacerbations in children, while also providing general recommendations for future research in this field.

Recent findings

Current evidence suggests that every effort should be made to provide optimal treatment to achieve adequate asthma control, as this will significantly reduce the risk of severe disease exacerbations. Children who have had at least one asthma exacerbation in the previous year are at highest risk for subsequent exacerbations, regardless of disease severity and/or control. Although several tools and biomarkers to predict asthma exacerbations have been recently developed, these approaches need further validation and/or have only had partial success in identifying children at risk.

Summary

Although considerable progress has been made, much remains to be done. Future studies should clearly differentiate severe asthma exacerbations due to inadequate asthma control from those occurring in children whose asthma is well controlled, utilize standardized definitions of asthma exacerbations, and use a systematic approach to identify the best predictors after accounting for the multiple dimensions of the problem. Our ability to correctly predict the development of severe asthma exacerbations in an individual child should improve in parallel with increased knowledge and/or understanding of the complex interactions among genetic, environmental (e.g., viral infections) and lifestyle (e.g., adherence to treatment) factors underlying these events.

Rationale: The epidemiology of cigarette smoking–related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not well characterized in Hispanics in the United States. Understanding how ethnicity influences COPD is important for a number of reasons, from informing public health policies to dissecting the genetic and environmental effects that contribute to disease.

Objectives: The present study assessed differences in risk between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites for longitudinal and cross-sectional COPD phenotypes. Genetic ancestry was used to verify findings based on self-reported ethnicity. Hispanics in New Mexico are primarily differentiated from non-Hispanic whites by their proportion of Native American ancestry.

Methods: The study was performed in a New Mexican cohort of current and former smokers. Self-reported Hispanic and non-Hispanic white ethnicity was validated by defining genetic ancestry proportions at the individual level using 48 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers. Self-reported ethnicity and genetic ancestry were independently used to assess associations with cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of lung function. Multivariable models were adjusted for indicators of smoking behavior.

Measurements and Main Results: Self-reported Hispanic ethnicity was significantly associated with lower odds of COPD (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.35–0.71; P = 0.007), and this protection was validated by the observation that Hispanic smokers have reduced risk of rapid decline in lung function (odds ratio, 0.48; 95% confidence interval, 0.30–0.78; P = 0.003). Similar findings were noted when Native American genetic ancestry proportions were used as predictors instead of self-report of Hispanic ethnicity.

Conclusions: Hispanic ethnicity is inversely associated with cross-sectional and longitudinal spirometric COPD phenotypes even after adjustment for smoking. Native American genetic ancestry may account for this “Hispanic protection.”

Asthma is a common disease with a complex risk architecture including both genetic and environmental factors. We performed a meta-analysis of North American genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of asthma in 5,416 asthma cases representing European Americans, African Americans/African Caribbeans, and Latinos, and replicated five regions among the most significant signals in 12,649 individuals from the same ethnic groups. Four were at previously reported loci on 17q21, and near the IL1RL1, TSLP, and IL33, genes, but we report for the first time that these loci are associated with asthma risk in three ethnic groups. In addition, we identified a novel association with asthma in the PYHIN1, gene that was specific to individuals of African descent (p=3.9×10−9). These results suggest that some asthma susceptibility loci are robust to differences in ancestry when sufficiently large samples sizes are investigated, and that ancestry-specific associations also contribute to the complex genetic architecture of asthma.

Background

Although asthma is highly prevalent among certain Hispanic subgroups, genetic determinants of asthma and asthma‐related traits have not been conclusively identified in Hispanic populations. A study was undertaken to identify genomic regions containing susceptibility loci for pulmonary function and bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR) in Costa Ricans.

Methods

Eight extended pedigrees were ascertained through schoolchildren with asthma in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Short tandem repeat (STR) markers were genotyped throughout the genome at an average spacing of 8.2 cM. Multipoint variance component linkage analyses of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and FEV1/ forced vital capacity (FVC; both pre‐bronchodilator and post‐bronchodilator) and BDR were performed in these eight families (pre‐bronchodilator spirometry, n = 640; post‐bronchodilator spirometry and BDR, n = 624). Nine additional STR markers were genotyped on chromosome 7. Secondary analyses were repeated after stratification by cigarette smoking.

Results

Among all subjects, the highest logarithm of the odds of linkage (LOD) score for FEV1 (post‐bronchodilator) was found on chromosome 7q34–35 (LOD = 2.45, including the additional markers). The highest LOD scores for FEV1/FVC (pre‐bronchodilator) and BDR were found on chromosomes 2q (LOD = 1.53) and 9p (LOD = 1.53), respectively. Among former and current smokers there was near‐significant evidence of linkage to FEV1/FVC (post‐bronchodilator) on chromosome 5p (LOD = 3.27) and suggestive evidence of linkage to FEV1 on chromosomes 3q (pre‐bronchodilator, LOD = 2.74) and 4q (post‐bronchodilator, LOD = 2.66).

Conclusions

In eight families of children with asthma in Costa Rica, there is suggestive evidence of linkage to FEV1 on chromosome 7q34–35. In these families, FEV1/FVC may be influenced by an interaction between cigarette smoking and a locus (loci) on chromosome 5p.

Hispanics are individuals whose ancestry can be traced to Spain and/or areas previously under Spanish control (e.g., Mexico, Puerto Rico). They are a rapidly growing subset of the population of the United States and are quite diverse in their racial ancestry, country of origin, area of residence, socioeconomic status, tobacco use, and access to health care. Current evidence suggests that the prevalence and morbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) vary widely among Hispanic-American nations, with similar but limited findings among Hispanic subgroups in the United States. Potential reasons for such variation include differences in racial ancestry and genetic susceptibility, exposure to tobacco smoke and/or biomass smoke, access to health care, and disease management. Future studies of COPD in Hispanics should include large samples of subgroups that are well defined with regard to self-reported ethnicity, country of origin, area of residence, tobacco use, and socioeconomic status. Areas that need to be carefully examined include validation of COPD diagnoses for epidemiologic studies (e.g., by radiologic assessment), COPD in high-risk groups (e.g., Puerto Ricans), impact of biomass smoke (in rural areas) and air pollution (in urban areas) on COPD morbidity, effects of migration and acculturation on COPD prevalence and morbidity among Hispanic subgroups in the United States, development of reference values for spirometry, smoking cessation, and overcoming barriers to management. Public health measures, such as effective smoking prevention and cessation programs, reduction of air pollution and exposure to biomass smoke, and improved access to health care, would help reduce the burden of COPD among Hispanics in the United States and Latin America.

There is a significant genetic contribution to allergic rhinitis (AR). Genetic association studies for AR have been performed, but varying results make it challenging to decipher the overall potential effect of specific variants. The Th2 pathway plays an important role in the immunological development of AR. We performed meta-analyses of genetic association studies of variants in Th2 pathway genes and AR. PubMed and Phenopedia were searched by double extraction for original studies on Th2 pathway-related genetic polymorphisms and their associations with AR. A meta-analysis was conducted on each genetic polymorphism with data meeting our predetermined selection criteria. Analyses were performed using both fixed and random effects models, with stratification by age-group, ethnicity, and AR definition where appropriate. Heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed. Six independent studies analyzing three candidate polymorphisms and involving a total of 1596 cases and 2892 controls met our inclusion criteria. Overall, the A allele of IL13 SNP rs20541 was associated with increased odds of AR (estimated OR=1.2; 95% CI 1.1–1.3, P value 0.004 in fixed effects model, 95% CI 1.0–1.5, P value 0.056 in random effects model). The A allele of rs20541 was associated with increased odds of AR in mixed age groups using both fixed effects and random effects modeling. IL13 SNP rs1800925 and IL4R SNP 1801275 did not demonstrate overall associations with AR. We conclude that there is evidence for an overall association between IL13 SNP rs20541 and increased risk of AR, especially in mixed-age populations.

Current evidence supports a role for gut colonization in promoting and maintaining a balanced immune response in early life. An altered or less diverse gut microbiota composition has been associated with atopic diseases and/or obesity. Moreover, certain gut microbial strain or strains have been shown to inhibit or attenuate immune responses associated with chronic inflammation in experimental models. However, there has been no fully adequate longitudinal study of the relation between the neonatal gut microbiota and the development of allergic diseases (e.g., atopic asthma) and obesity. The emergence of promising experimental studies has led to several clinical trials of probiotics (live bacteria given orally that allow for intestinal colonization) in humans. Probiotic trials thus far have failed to show a consistent preventive or therapeutic effect on asthma or obesity. Previous trials of probiotics have been limited by small sample size, short duration of follow-up, or lack state-of-the art analyses of the gut microbiota. Finally, there is emerging evidence that the vitamin D pathway may be important in gut homeostasis and in the signaling between the microbiota and the host. Given the complexity of the gut micriobiota, additional research is needed before we can confidently establish whether its manipulation in early life can prevent or treat asthma and/or obesity.

Hispanic individuals trace their ancestry to countries that were previously under Spanish rule, including Mexico, large parts of Central and South America, and some Caribbean islands. Most—but not all—Hispanics have variable proportions of European, Amerindian, and African ancestry. Hispanics are diverse with regard to many factors, including racial ancestry, country of origin, area of residence, socioeconomic status, education, and access to health care. Recent findings suggest that there is marked variation in the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of asthma in Hispanics in the United States and in Hispanic America. The reasons for differences in asthma and asthma morbidity among and within Hispanic subgroups are poorly understood but are likely due to the interaction between yet-unidentified genetic variants and other factors, including environmental tobacco smoke exposure, obesity, allergen exposure, and availability of health care. Barriers to optimal management of asthma in Hispanics in the United States and in Hispanic America include inadequate access to health care, suboptimal use of antiinflammatory medications, and lack of reference values for spirometric measures of lung function in many subgroups (e.g., Puerto Ricans). Future studies of asthma in Hispanics should include large samples of subgroups that are well characterized with regard to self-reported ethnicity, country of origin, place of birth, area of residence, and indicators of socioeconomic status. Because Hispanics are disproportionately represented among the poor in the United States, implementation of adequate access to health care and social reforms (e.g., improving housing conditions) would likely have a major impact on reducing asthma morbidity in this population.

Background

Little is known about paternal psychosocial factors and childhood asthma.

Objective

To examine the link between maternal and paternal psychosocial stress and asthma outcomes in young children.

Methods

Parents of 339 pairs of Puerto Rican twins were interviewed individually about their own psychosocial stress and about asthma in their children at age 1 and again about their child’s asthma at age 3. Fathers were asked about symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anti-social behavior. Mothers were asked about depressive symptoms. Outcomes assessed in children included recent asthma symptoms, oral steroid use and hospitalizations for asthma in the prior year, and asthma diagnosis. Generalized estimated equation models were used for the multivariate analysis of parental psychosocial stress and asthma morbidity in childhood.

Results

After multivariable adjustment, paternal PTSD symptoms, depression, and anti-social behavior were each associated with increased asthma symptoms at age 1 (e.g., OR =1.08 for each 1-point increase in PTSD score, 95% CI=1.03–1.14). Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with an increased risk of asthma hospitalizations at age 1 year. At age 3 years, maternal depressive symptoms were associated with asthma diagnosis and hospitalizations for asthma (OR for each 1-point increase in symptoms=1.16, 95% CI=1.00–1.36]). In an analysis combining 1 and 3 year outcomes, paternal depression was associated with oral steroid use, maternal depressive symptoms were associated with asthma hospitalizations and asthma diagnosis, and parental depression was associated with hospitalizations for asthma.

Conclusions

Both paternal and maternal psychosocial factors may influence asthma morbidity in young Puerto Rican children.

Background

The mechanisms and consequences of the observed association between obesity and childhood asthma are unclear.

Objectives

To determine the effect of obesity on treatment responses to inhaled corticosteroids in asthmatic children.

Methods

We performed a post hoc analysis to evaluate the interaction between body mass index (BMI) and treatment with inhaled budesonide on lung function in the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) trial. Participants were then stratified into overweight/obese and non-overweight, and their response to inhaled budesonide was analyzed longitudinally over the 4 years of the trial.

Results

There was a significant interaction between BMI and budesonide for pre-BD FEV1/FVC (P=0.0007) and bronchodilator response (BDR) (P=0.049), and a non-significant trend for an interaction between BMI and budesonide on pre-BD FEV1 (P=0.15). Non-overweight children showed significant improvement with inhaled budesonide in lung function (FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and BDR) during the early (years 1–2) and late stages (years 3–4) of the trial. Overweight/obese children had improved FEV1 and BDR during the early but not the late stage of the trial, and showed no improvement in FEV1/FVC. When comparing time points where both groups showed significant response, the degree of improvement among non-overweight children was significantly greater than in overweight/obese children at most visits. Non-overweight children had a 44% reduction in the risk of ER visits or hospitalizations throughout the trial (P=0.001); there was no reduction in risk among overweight/obese (P=0.97).

Conclusions

Compared to children of normal weight, overweight/obese children in CAMP showed a decreased response to inhaled budesonide on measures of lung function and ER visits/hospitalizations for asthma.

Background

Few studies have examined the effects of in utero smoke exposure (IUS) on lung function in children with asthma, and there are no published data on the impact of IUS on treatment outcomes in asthmatic children.

Objectives

To explore whether IUS exposure is associated with increased airway responsiveness among children with asthma, and whether IUS modifies the response to treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).

Methods

To assess the impact of parent-reported IUS exposure on airway responsiveness in childhood asthma we performed a repeated-measures analysis of methacholine PC20 data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP), a four-year, multicenter, randomized double masked placebo controlled trial of 1041 children ages 5–12 comparing the long term efficacy of ICS with mast cell stabilizing agents or placebo.

Results

Although improvement was seen in both groups, asthmatic children with IUS exposure had on average 26% less of an improvement in airway responsiveness over time compared to unexposed children (p=.01). Moreover, while children who were not exposed to IUS who received budesonide experienced substantial improvement in PC20 compared to untreated children (1.25 fold-increase, 95% CI 1.03, 1.50, p=.02) the beneficial effects of budesonide were attenuated among children with a history of IUS exposure (1.04 fold-increase, 95% CI 0.65, 1.68, p=.88).

Conclusions

IUS reduces age-related improvements in airway responsiveness among asthmatic children. Moreover, IUS appears to blunt the beneficial effects of ICS use on airways responsiveness. These results emphasize the importance of preventing this exposure through smoking cessation counseling efforts with pregnant women.

Rationale: Animal models demonstrate that aberrant gene expression in utero can result in abnormal pulmonary phenotypes.

Objectives: We sought to identify genes that are differentially expressed during in utero airway development and test the hypothesis that variants in these genes influence lung function in patients with asthma.

Methods: Stage 1 (Gene Expression): Differential gene expression analysis across the pseudoglandular (n = 27) and canalicular (n = 9) stages of human lung development was performed using regularized t tests with multiple comparison adjustments. Stage 2 (Genetic Association): Genetic association analyses of lung function (FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC) for variants in five differentially expressed genes were conducted in 403 parent-child trios from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP). Associations were replicated in 583 parent-child trios from the Genetics of Asthma in Costa Rica study.

Measurements and Main Results: Of the 1,776 differentially expressed genes between the pseudoglandular (gestational age: 7–16 wk) and the canalicular (gestational age: 17–26 wk) stages, we selected 5 genes in the Wnt pathway for association testing. Thirteen single nucleotide polymorphisms in three genes demonstrated association with lung function in CAMP (P < 0.05), and associations for two of these genes were replicated in the Costa Ricans: Wnt1-inducible signaling pathway protein 1 with FEV1 (combined P = 0.0005) and FVC (combined P = 0.0004), and Wnt inhibitory factor 1 with FVC (combined P = 0.003) and FEV1/FVC (combined P = 0.003).

Conclusions: Wnt signaling genes are associated with impaired lung function in two childhood asthma cohorts. Furthermore, gene expression profiling of human fetal lung development can be used to identify genes implicated in the pathogenesis of lung function impairment in individuals with asthma.

Background

Risk factors for allergic rhinitis (AR) in asthmatics are likely distinct from those for AR or asthma alone. We sought to identify clinical and environmental risk factors for AR in children with asthma.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional study of 616 Costa Rican children aged 6–14 years with asthma. Candidate risk factors were drawn from questionnaire data, spirometry, methacholine challenge testing, skin testing, and serology. Two outcome measures, skin test reaction (STR)-positive AR and physician-diagnosed AR, were examined by logistic regression.

Results

STR-positive AR had high prevalence (80%) in Costa Rican children with asthma, and its independent risk factors were nasal symptoms after exposure to dust or mold, parental history of AR, older age at asthma onset, oral steroid use in the past year, eosinophilia, and positive IgEs to dust mite and cockroach. Physician-diagnosed AR had lower prevalence (27%), and its independent risk factors were nasal symptoms after pollen exposure, STR to tree pollens, a parental history of AR, inhaled steroid and short-acting β2 agonist use in the past year, household mold/mildew, and fewer older siblings. A physician’s diagnosis was only 29.5% sensitive for STR-positive AR.

Conclusions

Risk factors for AR in children with asthma depend on the definition of AR. Indoor allergens drive risk for STR-positive AR. Outdoor allergens and home environmental conditions are risk factors for physician-diagnosed AR. We propose that children with asthma in Costa Rica and other Latin American nations undergo limited skin testing or specific IgE measurements to reduce the current under-diagnosis of AR.

Rationale: Association studies have implicated many genes in asthma pathogenesis, with replicated associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and asthma reported for more than 30 genes. Genome-wide genotyping enables simultaneous evaluation of most of this variation, and facilitates more comprehensive analysis of other common genetic variation around these candidate genes for association with asthma.

Objectives: To use available genome-wide genotypic data to assess the reproducibility of previously reported associations with asthma and to evaluate the contribution of additional common genetic variation surrounding these loci to asthma susceptibility.

Methods: Illumina Human Hap 550Kv3 BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, CA) SNP arrays were genotyped in 422 nuclear families participating in the Childhood Asthma Management Program. Genes with at least one SNP demonstrating prior association with asthma in two or more populations were tested for evidence of association with asthma, using family-based association testing.

Measurements and Main Results: We identified 39 candidate genes from the literature, using prespecified criteria. Of the 160 SNPs previously genotyped in these 39 genes, 10 SNPs in 6 genes were significantly associated with asthma (including the first independent replication for asthma-associated integrin β3 [ITGB3]). Evaluation of 619 additional common variants included in the Illumina 550K array revealed additional evidence of asthma association for 15 genes, although none were significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons.

Conclusions: We replicated asthma associations for a minority of candidate genes. Pooling genome-wide association study results from multiple studies will increase the power to appreciate marginal effects of genes and further clarify which candidates are true “asthma genes.”

Rationale: Maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy has been inversely associated with asthma symptoms in early childhood. However, no study has examined the relationship between measured vitamin D levels and markers of asthma severity in childhood.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between measured vitamin D levels and both markers of asthma severity and allergy in childhood.

Methods: We examined the relation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (the major circulating form of vitamin D) and markers of allergy and asthma severity in a cross-sectional study of 616 Costa Rican children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. Linear, logistic, and negative binomial regressions were used for the univariate and multivariate analyses.

Measurements and Main Results: Of the 616 children with asthma, 175 (28%) had insufficient levels of vitamin D (<30 ng/ml). In multivariate linear regression models, vitamin D levels were significantly and inversely associated with total IgE and eosinophil count. In multivariate logistic regression models, a log10 unit increase in vitamin D levels was associated with reduced odds of any hospitalization in the previous year (odds ratio [OR], 0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.004–0.71; P = 0.03), any use of antiinflammatory medications in the previous year (OR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.05–0.67; P = 0.01), and increased airway responsiveness (a ≤8.58-μmol provocative dose of methacholine producing a 20% fall in baseline FEV1 [OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.024–0.97; P = 0.05]).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that vitamin D insufficiency is relatively frequent in an equatorial population of children with asthma. In these children, lower vitamin D levels are associated with increased markers of allergy and asthma severity.

Rationale: Polymorphisms in the gene for transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFB1) have been associated with asthma, but not with airway responsiveness or disease exacerbations in subjects with asthma.

Objectives: To test for association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TGFB1 and markers of asthma severity in childhood.

Methods: We tested for the association between nine SNPs in TGFB1 and indicators of asthma severity (lung function, airway responsiveness, and disease exacerbations) in two cohorts: 416 Costa Rican parent-child trios and 465 families of non-Hispanic white children in the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP). We also tested for the interaction between these polymorphisms and exposure to dust mite allergen on asthma severity.

Measurements and Main Results: The A allele of promoter SNP rs2241712 was associated with increased airway responsiveness in Costa Rica (P = 0.0006) and CAMP (P = 0.005), and the C allele of an SNP in the promoter region (rs1800469) was associated with increased airway responsiveness in both cohorts (P ≤ 0.01). Dust mite exposure modified the effect of the C allele of exonic SNP rs1800471 on airway responsiveness (P = 0.03 for interactions in both cohorts). The T allele of a coding SNP (rs1982073) was associated with a reduced risk of asthma exacerbations in Costa Rica (P = 0.009) and CAMP (P = 0.005). Dust mite exposure also significantly modified the effect of the A allele of the promoter SNP rs2241712 on asthma exacerbations in both cohorts.

Conclusions: SNPs in TGFB1 are associated with airway responsiveness and disease exacerbations in children with asthma. Moreover, dust mite exposure may modify the effect of TGFB1 SNPs on airway responsiveness and asthma exacerbations.

Rationale: Puerto Ricans have the highest prevalence of and morbidity from asthma of all ethnic groups in the United States. One potential contributor to the high burden of asthma in Puerto Rican children is exposure to stress and violence.

Objectives: To examine whether exposure to stress and violence is associated with an increased risk of asthma among Puerto Rican children.

Methods: This study was a population-based probability sample of children in the San Juan and Caguas metropolitan areas in Puerto Rico. Information was collected in a household survey of 1,213 children and their primary caretakers.

Measurements and Main Results: The prevalence of lifetime physician-diagnosed asthma was 39.6%. In the year before the survey, 14% of children had witnessed an act of violence, 7% had been victims of violence, and 6% had been victims of physical or sexual abuse. Although stressful life events and exposure to neighborhood violence were not associated with asthma, a history of physical or sexual abuse was associated with approximately twice the odds of current asthma (odd ratio [OR], 2.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27–5.00), health care use for asthma (OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 0.96–3.96), and medication use for asthma (OR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.05–5.26).

Conclusions: Physical or sexual abuse is associated with high asthma morbidity among Puerto Rican children. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between childhood abuse and asthma. Our findings highlight the importance of screening for asthma among victims of childhood abuse, and to be aware of the possibility of physical or sexual abuse among children with asthma.

Rationale: Replication of gene-disease associations has become a requirement in complex trait genetics.

Objectives: In studies of childhood asthma from two different ethnic groups, we attempted to replicate associations with five potential asthma susceptibility genes previously identified by positional cloning.

Methods: We analyzed two family-based samples ascertained through an asthmatic proband: 497 European-American children from the Childhood Asthma Management Program and 439 Hispanic children from the Central Valley of Costa Rica. We genotyped 98 linkage disequilibrium–tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five genes: ADAM33, DPP10, GPR154 (HUGO name: NPSR1), HLA-G, and the PHF11 locus (includes genes SETDB2 and RCBTB1). SNPs were tested for association with asthma and two intermediate phenotypes: airway hyperresponsiveness and total serum immunoglobulin E levels.

Measurements and Main Results: Despite differing ancestries, linkage disequilibrium patterns were similar in both cohorts. Of the five evaluated genes, SNP-level replication was found only for GPR154 (NPSR1). In this gene, three SNPs were associated with asthma in both cohorts, although the opposite alleles were associated in either study. Weak evidence for locus-level replication with asthma was found in the PHF11 locus, although there was no overlap in the associated SNP across the two cohorts. No consistent associations were observed for the three other genes.

Conclusions: These results provide some further support for the role of genetic variation in GPR154 (NPSR1) and PHF11 in asthma susceptibility and also highlight the challenges of replicating genetic associations in complex traits such as asthma, even for genes identified by linkage analysis.

Background

Studies have found that exposure to mice is highly prevalent among children with asthma living in urban areas.

Objective

To examine the relationship between exposure to mice and wheeze in the first year of life.

Methods

We conducted an ongoing prospective birth cohort study of 498 children with a history of allergy or asthma in at least 1 parent living in metropolitan Boston (the Home Allergens and Asthma Study).

Results

In a multivariate analysis, infants whose parents reported exposure to mice in the household had nearly twice the odds of developing any wheeze in the first year of life as children without exposure (odds ratio [OR], 1.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14–2.95; P = .01). Other variables associated with wheeze in the first year of life included low birth weight (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.06–2.95; P = .03), having at least 1 lower respiratory tract illness (OR, 5.59; 95% CI, 3.46–9.04; P < .001), exposure to high levels of endotoxin at age 2 to 3 months (fourth quartile compared with first quartile: OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.19–4.54; P = .01), and exposure to cockroach allergen of 0.05 U/g of dust or more at age 2 to 3 months (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.09–3.08; P = .02).

Conclusion

Among children with a parental history of asthma or allergies, exposure to mice is associated with wheeze in the first year of life, independent of other factors.

Objective

Exposure to endotoxin in early life has been proposed as a factor that may protect against the development of allergic diseases such as eczema. The objective of this study was to examine the relation between endotoxin exposure in early life and eczema in the first year of life in children with parental history of asthma or allergies.

Methods

This study used a prospective birth cohort study of 498 children who had a history of allergy or asthma in at least 1 parent and lived in metropolitan Boston. A subset of 401 living rooms had house dust samples adequate for analysis of endotoxin.

Results

In multivariate analyses adjusting for gender, income, and season of birth, endotoxin levels in the living room at 2 to 3 months of age was inversely associated with physician- or nurse-diagnosed eczema in the first year of life (odds ratio [OR] for each quartile increment: 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.61–0.96). Exposure to a dog in the home at age 2 to 3 months was also inversely associated with eczema in the first year of life, but the CI widened when endotoxin was included in the multivariate model (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.27–1.09). Other variables associated with eczema in the first year of life included paternal history of eczema (OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.03–3.55) and maternal specific immunoglobulin E positivity to ≥1 allergen (OR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.01–2.56).

Conclusions

Among children with parental history of asthma or allergies, exposure to high levels of endotoxin in early life may be protective against eczema in the first year of life. In these children, paternal history of eczema and maternal sensitization to at least 1 allergen are associated with an increased risk of eczema in the first year of life.