@article{3166720,
    title = "Phenotyping asthma, rhinitis and eczema in MeDALL population-based birth
cohorts: an allergic comorbidity cluster",
    author = "Garcia-Aymerich, J. and Benet, M. and Saeys, Y. and Pinart, M. and and Basagana, X. and Smit, H. A. and Siroux, V. and Just, J. and Momas, I. and and Ranciere, F. and Keil, T. and Hohmann, C. and Lau, S. and Wahn, U. and and Heinrich, J. and Tischer, C. G. and Fantini, M. P. and Lenzi, J. and and Porta, D. and Koppelman, G. H. and Postma, D. S. and Berdel, D. and and Koletzko, S. and Kerkhof, M. and Gehring, U. and Wickman, M. and Melen, and E. and Hallberg, J. and Bindslev-Jensen, C. and Eller, E. and Kull, I. and and Carlsen, K. C. Lodrup and Carlsen, K. -H. and Lambrecht, B. N. and and Kogevinas, M. and Sunyer, J. and Kauffmann, F. and Bousquet, J. and and Anto, J. M.",
    journal = "Clinical and Experimental Allergy",
    year = "2015",
    volume = "70",
    number = "8",
    pages = "973-984",
    publisher = "Wiley",
    doi = "10.1111/all.12640",
    keywords = "allergy; asthma; cluster analysis; eczema; rhinitis",
    abstract = "BackgroundAsthma, rhinitis and eczema often co-occur in children, but
their interrelationships at the population level have been poorly
addressed. We assessed co-occurrence of childhood asthma, rhinitis and
eczema using unsupervised statistical techniques.
MethodsWe included 17209 children at 4years and 14585 at 8years from
seven European population-based birth cohorts (MeDALL project). At each
age period, children were grouped, using partitioning cluster analysis,
according to the distribution of 23 variables covering symptoms ever’
and in the last 12months’, doctor diagnosis, age of onset and treatments
of asthma, rhinitis and eczema; immunoglobulin E sensitization; weight;
and height. We tested the sensitivity of our estimates to subject and
variable selections, and to different statistical approaches, including
latent class analysis and self-organizing maps.
ResultsTwo groups were identified as the optimal way to cluster the data
at both age periods and in all sensitivity analyses. The first
(reference) group at 4 and 8years (including 70% and 79% of children,
respectively) was characterized by a low prevalence of symptoms and
sensitization, whereas the second (symptomatic) group exhibited more
frequent symptoms and sensitization. Ninety-nine percentage of children
with comorbidities (co-occurrence of asthma, rhinitis and/or eczema)
were included in the symptomatic group at both ages. The children’s
characteristics in both groups were consistent in all sensitivity
analyses.
ConclusionAt 4 and 8years, at the population level, asthma, rhinitis and
eczema can be classified together as an allergic comorbidity cluster.
Future research including time-repeated assessments and biological data
will help understanding the interrelationships between these diseases."
}