Gene and environmental influences on childhood asthma: STELAR (Study Team for Early Life Asthma Research) collaboration

哮喘是儿童最常见的慢性疾病，在过去30年中，患有哮喘的儿童人数急剧增加。我们并不完全了解生活方式变化的哪些方面导致了这种增加，但饮食、免疫接种和吸烟等许多因素都与此有关。我们建立了一个由来自阿伯丁、阿什福德、布里斯托尔、怀特岛和曼彻斯特的研究人员组成的网络，我们从几千个孩子出生开始就研究了他们，并测量了环境中的许多因素（例如，从家里收集灰尘，记录饮食摄入量等）。通过问卷调查、肺功能和过敏测试，我们清楚地描述了哪些孩子有哮喘和过敏，哪些孩子没有。在每个研究中心，研究使用了略微不同的测量方法。在这个研究项目中，我们将回顾曼彻斯特，阿伯丁和阿什福德10 -12岁的孩子，并以同样的方式衡量事情。通过作为一个研究网络一起工作，我们将能够在采取类似测量的另一个队列中重现一个队列的发现，使研究结果更加强大和可靠。我们也在收集研究儿童的DNA，这样将来就能研究基因和环境是如何相互作用导致疾病的。了解哮喘的病因将使我们能够确定预防易感儿童哮喘的策略，并可能改善对成年哮喘患者的治疗。

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and the number of children suffering from asthma has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. We do not fully understand what aspects of changing life style have caused this increase, but many things such as diet, immunizations and smoke exposure have been implicated. We have created a network of researchers from Aberdeen, Ashford, Bristol, Isle of White and Manchester and we have studied several thousand children from their birth and measured lots of factors in the environment (e.g. collecting dust form the home, recording dietary intake etc). Using questionnaires and lung function and allergy testing we have a clear description of which children have and have not got asthma and allergies. In each of the centres the study has used slightly different ways of measuring things. In this research project we will review the children in Manchester, Aberdeen and Ashford at age 10 -12 years and measure things in the same way. By working together as a research network we will be able to reproduce the findings of one cohort in another where similar measurements have been taken, making the research findings much stronger and more reliable. We are also collecting DNA from the study children and so in the future will be able to investigate how the genes and environment interact to cause disease. Understanding the causes of asthma will allow us to identify strategies to prevent asthma in susceptible children, and may improve treatment for asthma sufferers into adulthood.