Yumiko Miyaji, Kiwako Yamamoto-Hanada, Limin Yang, Mayako Saito-Abe, Miori Sato, Hidetoshi Mezawa, Minaho Nishizato, Masayuki Ochiai, Shouichi Ohga, Masako Oda, Hiroshi Mitsubuchi, Masayuki Shimono, Reiko Suga, Nathan Mise, Makiko Sekiyama, Shoji F Nakayama, Yukihiro Ohya
BMC pediatrics 23(1) 479-479 2023年9月21日
BACKGROUND: Numerous studies suggest that sex steroids might play a role in sex disparity observed in allergic diseases in adults. However, whether sex hormones influence allergic diseases in children remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to examine the association of sex steroid hormones with allergic disease in Japanese children. METHODS: The present cross-sectional study included 145 6-year-old children participating in a pilot birth cohort study in the Japan Environment and Children's Study. Data on allergic diseases were obtained from questionnaires, and serum levels of sex steroid hormones and allergen-specific IgE were measured. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association of sex hormones with allergic diseases. RESULTS: After adjusted sex, amount of body fat at 6 years, parental history of allergic disease, and exposure to tobacco smoke, serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate level was significantly associated with reduced odds of any allergic disease (adjusted odds ratio, 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.93; P = 0.024) and serum follicle-stimulating hormone level was significantly associated with increased odds of any allergic disease (adjusted odds ratio, 2.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-4.11, P = 0.046). Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate level showed a significant association with number of allergic diseases. CONCLUSIONS: The current study findings suggest that sex hormones may play an important role in the development of allergic diseases in prepubertal children.
