Association of maternal allergy with human milk soluble CD14 and fatty acids, and early childhood atopic dermatitis

• Published in: Pediatric allergy and immunology Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 204 - 213
• Main Authors: Hua, Man‐Chin, Su, Hui‐Min, Kuo, Ming‐Ling, Chen, Chien‐Chang, Yao, Tsung‐Chieh, Tsai, Ming‐Han, Liao, Sui‐Ling, Lai, Shen‐Hao, Chiu, Chih‐Yung, Su, Kuan‐Wen, Chen, Li‐Chen, Yeh, Kuo‐Wei, Huang, Jing‐Long
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2019
• Subjects: Age; Allergies; Atopic dermatitis; Baby foods; Breast milk; CD14 antigen; Child, Preschool; Children; Cohort Studies; Colostrum; Colostrum - immunology; Colostrum - metabolism; Dermatitis; Dermatitis, Atopic - epidemiology; Dermatitis, Atopic - etiology; Eczema; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Female; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lactation; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors - metabolism; Male; maternal allergy; mature milk; Milk, Human - immunology; Milk, Human - metabolism; Mothers; Postpartum; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - immunology; sCD14; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taiwan; Taiwan; sCD14; fatty acids; children; colostrum; mature milk; atopic dermatitis; maternal allergy
• ISSN: 0905-6157; 1399-3038
• DOI: 10.1111/pai.13011

Background This study aimed to investigate whether maternal allergy is associated with soluble CD14 (sCD14) and fatty acid composition in different stages of lactation and the onset of atopic dermatitis (AD) in early childhood. Methods In total, 443 mother‐child groups (445 children) were enrolled in the Prediction of Allergies in Taiwanese Children birth cohort study. Colostrum and mature milk at 2 months postpartum (2‐month HM) were collected from lactating mothers. Information regarding parental allergy histories and physician‐diagnosed atopic diseases was obtained using age‐specific questionnaires (0‐2 years). We compared sCD14 levels and the composition of 30 fatty acids in the colostrum and 2‐month HM, respectively, between allergic and non‐allergic mothers and between children with and without AD by the age of 2 years. Results In total, 185 (41.8%) mothers presented with allergies, and 154 (34.6%) children had physician‐diagnosed AD by the age of 2 years. Both in the colostrum and 2‐month HM of 289 lactating mothers, sCD14 levels were significantly lower in allergic mothers whose children presented with AD compared with children who did not (P = 0.015 and 0.044, respectively). Among the children with AD who were born to non‐allergic mothers, sCD14 levels were lower. However, the result was not statistically significant (P = 0.376 and 0.264, respectively). Our data revealed the lack of associations between fatty acid composition and AD (P > 0.05). Conclusion Decreased sCD14 levels in the colostrum and 2‐month HM were associated with AD at 2 years of age, particularly among children born to mothers with allergies.