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Prevalence and Familial Association of Atopic Disease and its Relationship to Serum IgE Levels in 1,061 School Children and Their Families
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1974
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AsthmaImmunodeficienciesGeneticsGenetic EpidemiologyAllergenSchool ChildrenChildhood Food AllergyAtopic DiseaseSerum Ige LevelsWestern AustraliaPublic HealthAllergyAutoimmune DiseaseInborn Error Of ImmunityEpidemiologyAtopic DermatitisAllergic DiseasePathogenesisPediatricsIge SynthesisFood AllergiesMedicineClinical Allergy
The prevalence of asthma, hay fever, wheezing bronchitis, and eczema was found to be independent of age and sex in 1,598 school children aged 6–17 years who were resident in Busselton, Western Australia. Prevalence studies show that both asthma and hay fever are inherited diseases but that the mode of inheritance differs, since there is evidence in hay fever but not asthma of a cumulative effect resulting from both parents expressing the disease. The serum IgE levels of children with all categories of allergic disease reported in this study were significantly elevated above those of control children of similar age. The mother’s serum IgE concetration was more closely related to that of her son than to that of her daughter. The converse relationship existed for girls. These findings are interpreted on the basis that the X-chromosome of man carries genes which influence IgE synthesis.