ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the risk of atopic disease in infants with a atopic mothers. Methods The level of CCL22 and total IgE in the cord blood were measured using ELISA for 33 newborns with atopic mothers and for 44 newborns with non-atopic mothers. Correlation between the two factors was examined. Periodic follow-ups were conducted on the newborns to observe the risk of atopic diseases. Results The atopic group showed a higher level of CCL22 than that in non-atopic group, and the difference was statistically significant (Z=5.20, P=0.000). When 0.9 kU/L was taken as the threshold of an elevated IgE level in cord blood, the positive rates of the atopic group (11/33) was much higher than that of the non-atopic group (4/44) (χ2=7.07, P=0.008). Furthermore, the level of CCL22 and the level of IgE were significantly positively correlated (r=0.808, P=0.000; r=0.348, P=0.021) in the atopic group and the non-atopic group, respectively. During the 12 months of follow-up, the number of atopic diseases occurred in the infants in the atopic group (24/33) was much higher than that in the non-atopic group (10/44) (χ2=19.12, P<0.001).Significant correlation exists between levels CCL22 and total IgE in cord blood and infant atopic diseases (Z=5.36, P=0.000; Z=4.44, P=0.000). Conclusions At birth, the infants with an atopic mother are already in a sensitization state and have a tendency to develop potential atopic diseases. There is a correlation between the history of atopic diseases in the mothers and the elevated level of CCL22 in the cord blood of the newborns, and the probability of developing atopic diseases for the newborns is significantly higher when the level of CCL22 is elevated. The combined detection of CCL22 and IgE levels impact significantly on the prediction of the risk of atopic diseases clinically.