Previous studies of the ontogeny of the mucosal immune system have shown a
significant increase in salivary Immunoglobulin A levels occurring at about five years
of age. This study has monitored a group of 3 and 4 year old children during one year
of attendance at Pre-School to examine whether such an increase could be linked to
increased antigenic exposure associated with moving into a school like environment.
Saliva samples were collected at regular intervals and analysed for immunoglobulin and
total protein levels. Daily health records were maintained for each child, and a detailed
social and medical history was collected for each child at the beginning of the study.
The elevated mucosal immune response observed in previous studies involving children
in day care centres and attending school was not seen in this study. No significant
difference was observed between children who had previously attended Pre-School or
child care centres and those who were attending for the first time. However, a marked
seasonal increase in mean salivary IgA during the winter months was observed and this
increase correlated with an increase in respiratory infections. Hence, in studies of
developmental aspects of mucosal immune response it is essential that modifiers such as
season and infection be recorded.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218922 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Ewing, Patricia A., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Human & Biomedical Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Patricia A. Ewing |
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