Childhood asthma and indoor allergen exposure and sensitization in Buffalo, New York

This nested case-control study examined the association between prevalent asthma and indoor allergen sensitization and/or exposure among children (aged 5–17 years) in Buffalo, New York. The study included a self-administered questionnaire, clinical interviews, skin allergen sensitivity tests and home dust sampling for house dust mites, cat, dog, cockroach and mouse allergens. After adjusting for multiple confounders, asthma cases had higher odds of being sensitized to Der p dust mites (odds ratio [OR] = 1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–3.35), cat (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.13–3.39), or dog allergens (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.10–3.22) than the controls. A significantly positive association between asthma status presence of cat allergen in the child's mattress (ORs: 2.61, 95% CI: 1.09–6.28) was also found. Children with both sensitization and environmental exposure to cat allergens had higher odds of asthma (OR = 7.08, 95% CI: 2.12–23.62) than those who were only sensitized to cat allergen (OR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.01–5.32) or had only home exposures (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.47–4.65). The association between allergen sensitization and asthma was more consistent than for home exposures. The findings help to confirm the role of allergen sensitization and home exposure in regard to asthma, and suggest that both, individually and jointly, are associated with asthma.