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Childhood BCG vaccination and the risk of asthma in adults

Asthma is a heterogeneous disorder, and the prevalence is increasing worldwide. The BCG vaccine is hypothesized to lower the risk of asthma by modulating specific aspects of T-cell mediated immunity (termed Th1 and Th2). We conducted a case-control study to determine the relationship between BCG vaccine given to children born and raised in Quebec and asthma in adult subjects. 93 case subjects with a clinical diagnosis of asthma and 118 control subjects without asthma answered a standardized questionnaire, and BCG vaccination status was verified in a central registry. After adjusting for potential confounders, vaccination with BCG after the age of one was associated with a reduced odds of adult-onset asthma (odds ratio: 0.3 (0.1-0.98)), and specifically of adult-onset atopic asthma (odds ratio: 0.2 (0.1-0.9)). These results suggest a critical time frame in immune system maturation during which administration of BCG vaccine may lower the risk of adult-onset asthma.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.82420
Date January 2004
CreatorsSamuel, George
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Science (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 002198896, proquestno: AAIMR12535, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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