Lennart Bråbäck - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Lennart Bråbäck

Research paper thumbnail of Father’s environment before conception and asthma risk in his children: a multi-generation analysis of the Respiratory Health In Northern Europe study

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2016

Whereas it is generally accepted that maternal environment plays a key role in child health, emer... more Whereas it is generally accepted that maternal environment plays a key role in child health, emerging evidence suggests that paternal environment before conception also impacts child health. We aimed to investigate the association between children's asthma risk and parental smoking and welding exposures prior to conception. In a longitudinal, multi-country study, parents of 24 168 offspring aged 2-51 years provided information on their life-course smoking habits, occupational exposure to welding and metal fumes, and offspring's asthma before/after age 10 years and hay fever. Logistic regressions investigated the relevant associations controlled for age, study centre, parental characteristics (age, asthma, education) and clustering by family. Non-allergic early-onset asthma (asthma without hay fever, present in 5.8%) was more common in the offspring with fathers who smoked before conception {odds ratio [OR] = 1.68 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.18-2.41]}, whereas mothers' smoking before conception did not predict offspring asthma. The risk was highest if father started smoking before age 15 years [3.24 (1.67-6.27)], even if he stopped more than 5 years before conception [2.68 (1.17-6.13)]. Fathers' pre-conception welding was independently associated with non-allergic asthma in his offspring [1.80 (1.29-2.50)]. There was no effect if the father started welding or smoking after birth. The associations were consistent across countries. Environmental exposures in young men appear to influence the respiratory health of their offspring born many years later. Influences during susceptible stages of spermatocyte development might be important and needs further investigation in humans. We hypothesize that protecting young men from harmful exposures may lead to improved respiratory health in future generations.

Research paper thumbnail of Immunoglobulin constant heavy G chain genes as risk factors in childhood allergies

Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2006

Background Several candidate genes have been found to be associated with the inflammatory respons... more Background Several candidate genes have been found to be associated with the inflammatory response of IgE-mediated allergy, so also the immunoglobulin constant heavy G chain (IGHG) genes. The IGHG genes are situated close to the IGHE gene on chromosome 14q32, 5 0 m, d, g3, g1, a1, g2, g4, e, a2, 3 0 . They are inherited in a Mendelian fashion and expressed randomly in allelic exclusion. The alternative and functionally different g3, g1 and g2 gene variants are found in four IGHG haplotypes, coding four B cell variants.

Research paper thumbnail of Late-breaking abstract: Asthma risk increases when women become menopausal: A Northern European longitudinal survey

European Respiratory Journal, Sep 1, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Father’s environment before conception and asthma risk in his children: a multi-generation analysis of the Respiratory Health In Northern Europe study

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2016

Whereas it is generally accepted that maternal environment plays a key role in child health, emer... more Whereas it is generally accepted that maternal environment plays a key role in child health, emerging evidence suggests that paternal environment before conception also impacts child health. We aimed to investigate the association between children's asthma risk and parental smoking and welding exposures prior to conception. In a longitudinal, multi-country study, parents of 24 168 offspring aged 2-51 years provided information on their life-course smoking habits, occupational exposure to welding and metal fumes, and offspring's asthma before/after age 10 years and hay fever. Logistic regressions investigated the relevant associations controlled for age, study centre, parental characteristics (age, asthma, education) and clustering by family. Non-allergic early-onset asthma (asthma without hay fever, present in 5.8%) was more common in the offspring with fathers who smoked before conception {odds ratio [OR] = 1.68 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.18-2.41]}, whereas mothers' smoking before conception did not predict offspring asthma. The risk was highest if father started smoking before age 15 years [3.24 (1.67-6.27)], even if he stopped more than 5 years before conception [2.68 (1.17-6.13)]. Fathers' pre-conception welding was independently associated with non-allergic asthma in his offspring [1.80 (1.29-2.50)]. There was no effect if the father started welding or smoking after birth. The associations were consistent across countries. Environmental exposures in young men appear to influence the respiratory health of their offspring born many years later. Influences during susceptible stages of spermatocyte development might be important and needs further investigation in humans. We hypothesize that protecting young men from harmful exposures may lead to improved respiratory health in future generations.

Research paper thumbnail of Immunoglobulin constant heavy G chain genes as risk factors in childhood allergies

Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2006

Background Several candidate genes have been found to be associated with the inflammatory respons... more Background Several candidate genes have been found to be associated with the inflammatory response of IgE-mediated allergy, so also the immunoglobulin constant heavy G chain (IGHG) genes. The IGHG genes are situated close to the IGHE gene on chromosome 14q32, 5 0 m, d, g3, g1, a1, g2, g4, e, a2, 3 0 . They are inherited in a Mendelian fashion and expressed randomly in allelic exclusion. The alternative and functionally different g3, g1 and g2 gene variants are found in four IGHG haplotypes, coding four B cell variants.

Research paper thumbnail of Late-breaking abstract: Asthma risk increases when women become menopausal: A Northern European longitudinal survey

European Respiratory Journal, Sep 1, 2014