Biomedical subjects

J M Antó

Publications and source records attributed to J M Antó.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Risk factors of readmission to hospital for a COPD exacerbation: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are a leading cause of admission to hospital among men in many countries, although the factors causing exacerbations are largely unknown. The association between readmission for a COPD exacerbation and a wide range of modifiable potential risk factors, after adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors, has been assessed. METHODS: Three hundred and forty patients with COPD recruited during an admission for an exacerbation in four tertiary hospitals in the Barcelona area of Spain were followed for a mean period of 1.1 years. Information on potential risk factors, including clinical and functional status, medical care and prescriptions, medication adherence, lifestyle, health status, and social support, was collected at the recruitment admission. A Cox's proportional hazards model was used to obtain independent relative risks of readmission for COPD. RESULTS: During the follow up period 63% of patients were readmitted at least once, and 29% died. The final multivariate model showed the following risk (or protective) factors: > or =3 admissions for COPD in the year before recruitment (hazard ratio (HR)=1.66, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.39), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) percentage predicted (0.97, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99), oxygen tension (0.88, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.98), higher levels of usual physical activity (0.54, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.86), and taking anticholinergic drugs (1.81, 95% 1.11 to 2.94). Exposure to passive smoking was also related to an increased risk of readmission with COPD after adjustment for clinical factors (1.63, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.57) but did not remain in the final model. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to show a strong association between usual physical activity and reduced risk of readmission to hospital with COPD, which is potentially relevant for rehabilitation and other therapeutic strategies.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Effect of nitrogen dioxide and ozone on the risk of dying in patients with severe asthma.

BACKGROUND: A study was performed to assess the acute association between air pollution, pollen and spores, and mortality in a population based cohort of subjects with asthma recruited from emergency room admissions for an asthma exacerbation using a case crossover design. METHODS: Patients in Barcelona aged over 14 years who died during the period 1985-95 who had visited the emergency department of one of the four largest hospitals in the city for asthma during 1985-9 were included in the study (a total of 467 men and 611 women). Deaths were identified by record linkage of the cohort individuals with the Catalonia mortality registry. Causes of death were based on the underlying cause on the death certificate. Air pollution, pollen and spore levels were measured at the city monitoring stations which provide an average for the entire city. RESULTS: Nitrogen dioxide was associated with mortality for all causes of death (adjusted odds ratio (OR) for an increase of the interquartile range = 1.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09 to 2.64) in asthmatic patients with more than one emergency room admission for asthma. The association was particularly strong for respiratory causes (OR 1.63, 95% CI 0.93 to 2.86). Ozone also increased the risk of death in asthmatic patients (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.30) during spring and summer. The association with particles, pollen, and spores was not significant, and no interactions between air pollutants and pollen and spores were found. CONCLUSION: Nitrogen dioxide and ozone may exacerbate severe asthma and even cause death among asthmatic subjects.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Asthma characteristics in cleaning workers, workers in other risk jobs and office workers.

Several studies have demonstrated an excess risk for asthma among cleaning workers. The aim of this analysis was to compare clinical, immunological and functional characteristics associated with asthma in cleaners and other occupational groups. Cleaners, workers exposed to high molecular weight (MW) agents, workers exposed to low MW agents, and office workers were identified from an international community-based epidemiological study. Influence of sex, smoking, age and atopy on the relationships with asthma was investigated. Rates of respiratory symptoms, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, atopic sensitisation and lung function were compared between asthmatics from the four groups (case-case analysis). The risk for asthma in workers exposed to low MW agents was higher among nonatopics than among atopics. Case-case analysis showed no major differences in asthma characteristics between cleaners and workers exposed to high or low MW agents. Asthmatic cleaners had less atopy, more chronic bronchitis and a lower lung function as compared to office workers. Asthma in cleaning workers showed many similarities with that in workers known to be at risk for occupational asthma. Atopic sensitisation did not seem to play an important role in cleaning-related asthma.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Incidence of asthma and its determinants among adults in Spain.

The objective was to measure the incidence of asthma and its determinants in Spain, where the prevalence of asthma is low to medium. A follow-up of subjects participating in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) was conducted in 1998- 1999 (n = 1,640, 85% of those eligible). Subjects were randomly selected from the general population and were 20 to 44 yr old in 1991-1993. Time of follow-up was on average 6.75 yr (range, 5.3 to 7.9 yr). Asthma was defined as reporting ever having had asthma. The incidence of asthma was 5.53 (95% confidence interval, 4.28- 7.16) per 1,000 person-years (6.88 in females, 4.04 in males). Incidence was highest in subjects who at the baseline survey had bronchial hyperresponsiveness (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 3.85), in those with positive IgE against timothy grass (IRR, 3.16), and in females (IRR, 1.80). These results persisted after adjusting for respiratory symptoms at baseline. There was no significant association (p < 0.2) with high total serum IgE, atopy defined by reactivity to any allergen, smoking, occupational exposure, or maternal asthma. A sensitivity analysis using four definitions of population at risk yielded incidence rates varying from 5.53 to 1.50. In this population of subjects without self-reported asthma or asthma-type symptoms at baseline, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and IgE reactivity to grass appeared as the main determinants of new asthma.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Risk factors for hospitalization for a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. EFRAM study.

Although exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is important in terms of health and costs, there is little information about which are the risk factors. We estimated the association between modifiable and nonmodifiable potential risk factors of exacerbation and the admission for a COPD exacerbation, using a case-control approach. Cases were recruited among admissions for COPD exacerbation during 1 yr in four tertiary hospitals of the Barcelona area. Control subjects were recruited from hospital's register of discharges, having coincided with the referent case in a previous COPD admission but being clinically stable when the referent case was hospitalized. All patients completed a questionnaire and performed spirometry, blood gases, and physical examination. Information about potential risk factors was collected, including variables related to clinical status, characteristics of medical care, medical prescriptions, adherence to medication, lifestyle, quality of life, and social support. A total of 86 cases and 86 control subjects were included, mean age 69 yr, mean FEV(1) 39% of predicted. Multivariate logistic regression showed the following risk (or protective) factors of COPD hospitalization: three or more COPD admissions in the previous year (odds ratio [OR] 6.21, p = 0.008); FEV(1) (OR 0.96 per percentual unit, p < 0.0005); underprescription of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) (OR 22.64, p = 0.007); and current smoking (OR 0.30, p = 0.022). Among a wide range of potential risk factors we have found that only previous admissions, lower FEV(1), and underprescription of LTOT are independently associated with a higher risk of admission for a COPD exacerbation.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Outcomes and costs of outpatient and inpatient cataract surgery: a randomised clinical trial.

The aim of this study was to compare clinical and perceived health outcomes and cost between ambulatory and inpatient cataract surgery. An unmasked randomised clinical trial was undertaken. Cataract surgery patients of three public hospitals in Barcelona (Spain) who met inclusion criteria for ambulatory surgery were randomly assigned to two groups: outpatient hospital and inpatient hospital. Primary outcome measures were early and late postoperative surgical complications and visual acuity. Secondary outcome measures were perceived visual function, overall perceived health status, and costs. A total of 464 outpatients and 471 inpatients were analysed. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in visual acuity (P =.48), nor for the other clinical and perceived health outcome measures, except for early postoperative complications. Outpatients presented at least one complication in the first 24 h after surgery more frequently than inpatients (64 vs. 43; RR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1, 2.4), but 4 months after surgery the differences in complications rates between groups disappeared. The cost of surgery was lower for outpatients than for inpatients (1001 vs. 1218 Euros; P <.001). Ambulatory cataract surgery was more cost-effective than inpatient surgery. Despite the higher risk of early complications in the outpatient hospital group, these differences may not be clinically relevant because the 4-month postoperative outcomes were not affected.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Adaptation of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire to a second language preserves its critical properties: the Spanish version.

To test the metric proprieties of the Spanish version of the Juniper Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ), we studied 116 adult asthmatic patients with a wide range of disease severity (53 patients were recruited from the respiratory outpatient department, 38 from a primary health care centre and 25 were patients admitted into hospital due to acute asthma). The patients were assessed twice, at recruitment and after 2 months. The AQLQ showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78 to 0.96) and a high 2-week reproducibility (ICC = 0.82 to 0.92). Expected significant differences in AQLQ scores were observed according to disease severity as measured by symptoms, medication, use of services and recruitment setting. The cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations between AQLQ and the overall St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire were strong, moderate to strong between AQLQ and dyspnea and weak to moderate between AQLQ and FEV(1). The changes in AQLQ scores were significantly different in patients who either improved or deteriorated from those patients who remained stable (P <.0001 and P <.01, respectively, for the overall AQLQ). We conclude that the Spanish version of the AQLQ is reliable, valid and sensitive to changes.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2001

Maternal atopy and parity.

BACKGROUND: Family size and high birth order were related to the prevalence of hayfever and positive skin prick test. However, this association may be explained by maternal atopy. We examined the relationship between maternal atopy and the number of offspring in three European cohorts of pregnant women. METHODS: The mothers and their children (n = 1487) were recruited for the Asthma Multi-centre Infants Cohort Study (AMICS). The three concurrent cohorts (Ashford, Kent (UK); Menorca island (Spain) and Barcelona city (Spain) followed the same research protocol. Maternal and paternal atopy was identified by skin prick tests at different times at the three centres. RESULTS: Maternal atopy was inversely related to the number of offspring, an association which occurred in each of the three cohorts and remained when atopy was defined separately for individual allergens (a positive response to testing with either Der p 1 or grass pollen) and which was not confounded by maternal age, smoking nor social class (the adjusted odds ratios were 0.71, 0.79 and 0.26 for increasing number of offspring, P = 0.002). Neither maternal asthma (P = 0.43) nor paternal atopy (P = 0.58) were associated with the number of offspring. Maternal atopy was not related to reproductive outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The association between maternal atopy and parity challenges the role of family size on child atopy, which should be studied in other populations.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Role of age and sex in short-term and long term mortality after a first Q wave myocardial infarction.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyse whether the risk of death within 28 days and three years after a first Q wave myocardial infarction was higher in hospitalised women than in men. DESIGN: Follow up study. PATIENTS AND SETTING: All consecutive first Q wave myocardial infarction patients aged 25 to 74 years (447 women and 2322 men) admitted to a tertiary hospital in Gerona, Spain, from 1978 to 1997 were registered and followed up for three years. MAIN RESULTS: Women were older, presented more comorbidity and developed more severe myocardial infarctions than men. A significant interaction was found between sex and age. Women aged 65-74 had higher early mortality risk than men of the same age (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.01, 2.66) after adjusting for age, comorbidity and acute complications including heart failure. Women under 65 tended to be at lower risk of early mortality than men (0.45 (95% CI 0.19, 1.04). Three year mortality of 28 day survivors did not differ between sexes. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the idea that the higher 28 day mortality in hospitalised women with a first Q wave myocardial infarction is mainly attributable to the large number of patients aged 65 to 74 years in whom the risk is higher than that in men. Women under 65 with myocardial infarction do not seem to be a special group of risk.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Prenatal risk factors of wheezing at the age of four years in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: A study was undertaken to assess the interactions between prenatal exposures, early life infections, atopic predisposition, and allergen exposures in the development of wheezing up to the age of 4 years in a tropical region of Africa. METHODS: The study subjects comprised children born at the district hospital in Ifakara, Tanzania during a 1 year period who were participating in a trial of iron supplementation and malaria chemoprophylaxis during the first year of life and followed for up to 4 years. From this group of subjects, 658 (79%) participated in the interview at 18 months and 528 (64%) in a second interview at 4 years. Wheezing was measured with the ISAAC questionnaire. A hospital based inpatient and outpatient surveillance system was set up to document all attendance by study children for any cause, including episodes of clinical malaria and lower respiratory tract infections. Total IgE levels and malaria parasites were measured in maternal and cord blood. Total IgE was also measured at 18 months of age. Indoor environmental levels of Der p I and Fel d I were determined using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay at the same time as the interview at the age of 18 months. RESULTS: The prevalence of wheezing at 4 years is common in Ifakara (14%, range 13-15%). The presence of malaria parasites in cord blood (odds ratio, OR = 6.84, 95% CI 1.84 to 24.0) and maternal asthma (OR = 8.47, 95% CI 2.72 to 26.2) were positively associated with wheezing at the age of 4 years, and cord blood total IgE was negatively associated (OR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.85) (all p<0.05). Parasitaemia at birth was not related to total IgE levels in cord blood (p=0.6). Clinical episodes of malaria during infancy were not associated with wheezing, and nor were levels of indoor aeroallergens. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that events occurring during pregnancy may play a role in the future appearance of wheezing, although the results must be interpreted with caution because of the small numbers studied.

Allergens↗

PubMed2001

Occupation, chronic bronchitis, and lung function in young adults. An international study.

We studied the relationship between occupational exposures, chronic bronchitis, and lung function in a general population survey in 14 industrialized countries, including 13,253 men and women aged 20 to 44 yr. We studied associations between occupational group, occupational exposures, bronchitis symptoms (cough and phlegm production for at least 3 mo each year), FEV(1), and nonspecific bronchial responsiveness (NSBR) separately in lifetime nonsmokers, cigarette smokers, and ex-smokers. Occupational exposure to vapors, gas, dust, or fumes, estimated with a job exposure matrix (JEM), was associated with chronic bronchitis among current smokers only (prevalence ratio (PR): 1.2 to 1.7). The interaction of occupational exposure with smoking, however, was not statistically significant (p > 0.1). Self-reported exposure was related to chronic bronchitis in all smoking groups. An increased risk for chronic bronchitis was found in agricultural, textile, paper, wood, chemical, and food processing workers, being more pronounced in smokers. Lung function and NSBR were not clearly related to occupational exposures. Findings were similar for asthmatic and nonasthmatic subjects. In conclusion, occupational exposures contributed to the occurrence of chronic (industrial) bronchitis in young adults. Fixed airflow limitation was not evident, probably due to the relatively young age of this population.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Epidemiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of world-wide mortality and disability. On average approximately 5-15% of adults in industrialized countries have COPD defined by spirometry. In 1990, COPD was considered to be at the twelfth position world-wide as a cause of combined mortality and disability but is expected to become the fifth cause by the year 2020. COPD has a chronic long-lasting course characterized by irreversible decline of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), increasing presence of dyspnoea and other respiratory symptoms, and progressive deterioration of health status. After diagnosis the 10-yr survival rate is approximately 50% with more than one-third of patients dying due to respiratory insufficiency. Several environmental exposures such as air pollution increase the risk of death in COPD patients. The aetiology of COPD is overwhelmingly dominated by smoking although many other factors could play a role. Particular genetic variants are likely to increase the susceptibility to environmental factors although little is known about which are the relevant genes. There is clear evidence about the role of the alpha-1-antitrypsin but the fraction of COPD attributable to the relevant variants is only 1%. Phenotypic traits that are considered to play a role in the development of COPD include sex, with females being at a higher risk, bronchial responsiveness and atopy. There is strong causal evidence regarding the relationship between smoking and COPD with decline in FEVI levelling off after smoking cessation. Passive smoking has been found to be associated with a small though statistically significant decline in FEV1. Other risk factors that are likely to be relevant in the development of COPD are occupation, low socioeconomic status, diet and possibly some environmental exposures in early life. Although there is accumulating evidence that oxygen therapy, pharmacological treatment and rehabilitation may improve the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, preventing smoking continues to be the most relevant measure, not only to prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but also to arrest its development.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Asthma risk, cleaning activities and use of specific cleaning products among Spanish indoor cleaners.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have shown an excess risk of asthma for cleaners, but it is not clear which cleaning-related exposures induce or aggravate asthma. METHODS: Risk factors for asthma were studied among indoor cleaners participating in the Spanish part of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey in 1992. In 1998, 78 of the 91 subjects reporting cleaning-related jobs in 1992 were identified. Of these, 67 indoor cleaners were interviewed by telephone about their cleaning activities and their use of cleaning products in 1992. These data were related to asthma prevalence in 1992, and the cleaners were compared with a reference group of office workers. RESULTS: Asthma prevalence was 1.7 times higher [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.1-2.6] among the cleaners than among the referents, being highest among private home cleaners (3.3, 95% CI 1.9-5.8). The prevalence of housedust mite sensitization amounted to 28% for the home cleaners and was significantly (P<0.01) higher than for other indoor cleaners (3%), but similar to the corresponding prevalence of office workers (22%). More than half of the cleaners reported work-related respiratory symptoms. The asthma risk of the home cleaners was mainly associated with kitchen cleaning and furniture polishing, with the use of oven sprays and polishes. CONCLUSIONS: The asthma risk of Spanish cleaners is primarily related to the cleaning of private homes. This relationship may be explained by the use of sprays and other products in kitchen cleaning and furniture polishing.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Clusters, classification and epidemiology of interstitial lung diseases: concepts, methods and critical reflections.

The present article reports on two conceptual and methodological issues concerning interstitial lung disease (ILD) about which there is a lot of misunderstanding and contradiction: the investigation of epidemics and clusters and the classification and epidemiology of ILD. In general, an epidemic is the occurrence of cases of an illness in excess of normal expectancy. The investigation of an epidemic often demands a number of sequential studies: first descriptive, then aetiological. Clusters consist of an increase in incidence of much smaller magnitude, perhaps excluding the possibility that this is merely a result of chance. In recent years, more valid statistical methods for the assessment of clusters have developed. For interstitial lung disease in particular, different classifications exist that are sometimes inconsistent and may change with time. All diseases require a process of ascertainment, whereby they are identified, classified and perhaps registered. The two most employed epidemiological techniques for testing aetiological hypotheses are the cohort and case-referent approaches.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

Interstitial lung diseases: an epidemiological overview.

Epidemiological studies on interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) may be schematically subdivided into the following major types: 1) quantifications of disease, broken down into incidence, prevalence and mortality data; 2) identification of aetiological factors; and 3) clinical epidemiological studies. Epidemiological data may be obtained from different sources or population groups, using different study designs such as systematic national statistics, population-based data and registries, and large case series of specific diseases. Differences in results between epidemiological studies may be due to real differences in incidence, but may also be due to changes in disease definitions and classifications, differences in the epidemiological design of the studies, or even registration bias. Comparative epidemiological data of different ILDs are almost limited to the general population study in Bernalillo County and to national mortality statistics, which should be interpreted with great caution. Also, some, mostly national registries of the different ILDs have been carried out by specific medical profession groups (especially pulmonologists), which clearly underestimate the real incidence of ILDs, but in which the comparison of the relative frequencies is probably accurate. Based on all these comparative studies, sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis appear to be the most frequent ILDs, followed by hypersensitivity pneumonitis and ILD in collagen vascular disease, when classical pneumoconioses are not included. There is also a relatively large group of nonspecific fibrosis. Much more data have been published on the epidemiology of specific forms of interstitial lung disease. Most information is available on the epidemiology of sarcoidosis, and those data are probably the most accurate. Data on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis have the disadvantage of the recent changes in definition and classification of this disease. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis has been studied epidemiologically, especially in some exposure groups such as farmers and pigeon breeders, and in some regions in North America, UK, France and Scandinavia. Estimates of frequencies of interstitial lung disease in collagen vascular disease or of drug-induced interstitial lung disease are less accurate and more variable, depending on diagnostic criteria. Notwithstanding the aforementioned problems, this report tries to provide a balanced overview of the epidemiology of different interstitial lung diseases.

Humans↗

PubMed2000

[Factors associated with the development of atopy in young adults].

BACKGROUND: To determine the risk factors for the development of atopy in Spanish young adults. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Case-control study over prevalent cases. Carried out in general population between the ages of 20 to 44 years old. Spanish participants of the ECRHS, a random representative sample of Spanish young adults (n = 16,884), and a 20% randomised subsample made by those who answered to a short respiratory questionnaire and had atopy assessed, was studied. Atopy was defined as having serum specific IgE positivity to the following aeroallergnes: cat dander, Cladosporium herbarum, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Parietaria judaica and Phleum pratense. RESULTS: Several factors had a statistically significant effect. In addition to male gender and lower age, maternal allergy (OR = 1.63; 95% CI = 1.11-2.40), having allergic siblings (OR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.06-1.90) and a higher educational level (OR = 1.69; 95% CI = 1.22-2.34) were associated with the presence of high levels of specific IgE in our sample. Moreover, having had older siblings, especially older brothers appears to be a protective factor to the development of atopy but not in a statistically significant way, while having had pet birds during childhood appears to enhance the risk. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to the familial variables that indicates both environmental and genetic factors, educational level seems to have low degree of association with atopy; this feature shows that variables related with life style are involved in atopy development.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at increased risk of death associated with urban particle air pollution: a case-crossover analysis.

The authors assessed the acute association between particulate air pollution and mortality among subjects suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by using a case-crossover analysis. This design avoided the common concerns about the methods used to assess the acute effects of air pollution. The 1,845 men and the 460 women included were residents of Barcelona, Spain, who were over age 35 years, had died during the period 1990-1995, and had visited emergency rooms because of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation during the period 1985-1989. Particle levels (measured as black smoke at the city monitoring stations) were associated with mortality for all causes (odds ratio (OR) for an increase of 20 microg/m3, the interquartile change, adjusted for temperature, humidity, and influenza = 1.112, 95 percent confidence interval (CI): 1.017, 1.215). The association was stronger for respiratory causes (OR = 1.182, 95 percent CI: 1.025, 1.365), but was not significant for cardiovascular causes (OR = 1.077, 95 percent CI: 0.917, 1.264). Older women, patients admitted to intensive care units, and patients with a higher rate of emergency room visits were at greater risk of dying associated with black smoke. The results reinforced the deleterious role of urban pollution and provided information on factors possibly conferring susceptibility to the acute role of air pollution.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Association study of proposed candidate genes/regions in a population of Spanish asthmatics.

A number of genes/regions have recently been reported to be linked to asthma or its related phenotypes (i.e. atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness), by genetic linkage and allele-sharing methods. We have performed a case-control study comparing the allelic distribution of nine microsatellite markers and two genetic variants in a group of patients attended at emergency room departments because of an acute attack of asthma with respect to an external healthy population of controls. A total of 146 asthmatic subjects and 50 population controls from Barcelona, Spain, were genotyped for nine microsatellite markers from some asthma/atopy candidate genes/regions: the beta-subunit of the high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilonRI-beta) located on chromosome 11; the 5q31-32 candidate region; the T-cell receptor genes, TCR-alpha on chromosome 14 and TCR-beta on chromosome 7. Two genetic variants of the beta-subunit of the high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilonRI-beta) gene were also analyzed. None of the asthmatic or control individuals carried the Ile181Leu variant. There were no significant differences between asthmatic and control subjects neither for the polymorphic markers nor for the other variant of the beta-subunit of the high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilonRI-beta) gene. No association could be observed in this sample of Spanish asthmatics with the genes/regions studied.

Adult↗