Abstract
BackgroundOtitis media is one of the most common infections of early childhood. Surfactant protein A functions as part of the innate immune response, which plays an important role in preventing infections early in life. This prospective study utilized a candidate gene approach to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in loci encoding SP-A and risk of otitis media during the first year of life among a cohort of infants at risk for developing asthma.MethodsBetween September 1996 and December 1998, women were invited to participate if they had at least one other child with physician-diagnosed asthma. Each mother was given a standardized questionnaire within 4 months of her infant's birth. Infant respiratory symptoms were collected during quarterly telephone interviews at 6, 9 and 12 months of age. Genotyping was done on 355 infants for whom whole blood and complete otitis media data were available.ResultsPolymorphisms at codons 19, 62, and 133 in SP-A1, and 223 in SP-A2 were associated with race/ethnicity. In logistic regression models incorporating estimates of uncertainty in haplotype assignment, the 6A4/1A5haplotype was protective for otitis media among white infants in our study population (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.07,0.73).ConclusionThese results indicate that polymorphisms within SP-A loci may be associated with otitis media in white infants. Larger confirmatory studies in all ethnic groups are warranted.
Highlights
Otitis media is one of the most common infections of early childhood
Codons 19, 62, and 133 in SP-A1, and 223 in SP-A2 were associated with race/ethnicity (Figure 1)
We identified a small number of white infants (n = 25) with 3 or more otitis media episodes during their first year, which perhaps accounts for our finding no association between recurrent otitis media and surfactant protein A (SP-A) haplotypes
Summary
Otitis media is one of the most common infections of early childhood. Surfactant protein A functions as part of the innate immune response, which plays an important role in preventing infections early in life. This prospective study utilized a candidate gene approach to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in loci encoding SP-A and risk of otitis media during the first year of life among a cohort of infants at risk for developing asthma. Otitis media is one of the most common infections of early childhood: 60%-80% of children will have at least one episode during their first year of life [1,2]. While studies have provided strong evidence of a genetic predisposition to otitis media, only a few studies have identified specific genes related to otitis media risk [11,12]
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