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Infectious Illness in Children Subsequently Diagnosed With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Modeling the Trends From Birth to Diagnosis
American Journal of Epidemiology, 08/17/2012
Crouch S et al. – This longitudinal approach revealed the marked deterioration in immune response that emerged around 5 months prior to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) diagnosis and confirmed that infectious diagnoses in the first year of life were significantly increased in children who developed leukemia between 2 and 14 years of age, as well as in those who had birth orders >1, were not breastfed, lived in deprived areas, or were diagnosed with eczema. By contrast, no association between infectious illness and preschool activity was detected, the lower infection levels among controls whose mothers reported attendance contributing to a significantly reduced ALL odds ratio.