CHARACTERISTICS OF ANTENATAL AND POSTNATAL RISKFACTORS OF FOOD ALLERGY IN INFANTS

Aim. to analyze a family history of the allergic diseases, course of pregnancy and delivery in mothers, effect of
concomitant diseases on the development and course of food allergy in infants.
methods. We examined 471 infants with food allergy and different severity index of the atopic dermatitis (AD).
Moderate and severe AD were more common at the age of 0-12 months old than at the age of 12-36 months old
(80,9 and 55,6%, respectively). in boys of the 12-36 months severe course of the disease was more common then
in girls at the same age (14,6 and 7,3%, respectively). We used SCORAD index for estimation of severity of AD.
Results. positive family histories of the allergic diseases were revealed in 67,9 and 67,3% of the infants with
moderate and severe course of AD, respectively. in the half of these infants allergic diseases were found in the
maternal line. Disturbances of the pregnancy and delivery in mothers of the infants with and without AD were
equal; however these disturbances were more common in mothers of the infants with severe AD. the postnatal
risk factors of allergy were revealed in 11,7% of infants: prematurity (3,2%), prenatal hypotrophy (4,7%), intranatal
asphyxia (2,3%), cephalohaematoma (1,5%).
Conclusion. the positive family history of allergy was high in all infants with AD independently on the age of
the appearance of first signs of food allergy. Mothers with pathological course of pregnancy and delivery more
often had an infants with severe course of AD. prevalence of the postnatal risk factors in healthy and ill infants
was equal.

food allergy, infants, risk factors