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Life in Australia increases allergy risk

Announcement posted by Australasian Society for HIV Medicine 30 Mar 2015

New studies show Australian environment increases hay fever and allergy symptoms and affects genetic make-up

(Tuesday 31 March – Gold Coast)New studies being released on the Gold Coast this week provide preliminary proof that the Australian environment not only increases susceptibility to allergies in some groups, but that it also changes their DNA.  The studies are being presented at this year’s Annual Scientific Meeting of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre.

 

“These studies indicate that something in the Australian environment is changing the way people’s bodies work and they are becoming more susceptible to allergies.  The longer the exposure, the more pronounced the change,” says Senior Research Fellow Brad Zhang, from Curtin University and University of Western Australia who led the research.

 

The studies conducted by Zhang and his team compared newly arrived Chinese immigrants with those that have been in Australia over a longer period of time. They found that incidence of hay fever and indicators of allergy both increased with length of time in Australia.

 

The second study analysed the DNA of newly arrived Chinese immigrants (6 months or less in Australia) and compared it with the DNA of Chinese immigrants that had lived in Australia for at least two years. The DNA of longer-resident immigrants was found to have undergone more structural changes known as methylation.

 

Asthma and allergic disease have dramatically increased in Western Countries and Australia now has one of the highest allergy prevalence rates in the world. Up to 47% of Australian children (13-14 years old) have hay fever ever.  Many Australian children have evidence of allergic sensitisation since very early life and most of them go on to develop allergic diseases such as food allergies, eczema, asthma and allergic rhinitis. These conditions frequently persist into adulthood, placing a significant burden on individuals and the healthcare system.

 

The cause of the increase remains unclear, however environmental factors such as hygiene and diet are thought to play a part.  These studies conducted in Chinese immigrants provide further evidence of the link between Western environment and allergy risk and could help identify the cause.

 

“We are now in the process of comparing Chinese children born in Australia to children born and living in China. We are looking at epigenetic change as well as the make-up of microbe patterns in the upper airway and gut between the two groups to identify the main differences that could be the cause for the increase in allergic symptoms in Australia. Future studies will also include other ethnic groups that have migrated to Australia.”

 

“Investigating the genes affected could help identify the underlying cause of diseases such as asthma,” explains Zhang.

 

For interviews contact Petrana Lorenz I Petrana.lorenz@ashm.org.au I 0405 158 636

BACKGROUND NOTES

 

 Fast facts 

http://www.allergy.org.au/national-allergy-strategy/allergy-in-australia-2014

1. Allergic diseases are among the fastest growing chronic conditions in Australia.

2. Almost 20% of the Australian population has an allergic disease and this prevalence is increasing.

3. Hospital admissions for anaphylaxis (severe life threatening allergic reaction) have increased 4-fold in the last 20 years.

4. Food-induced anaphylaxis has doubled in the last 10 years and 10% of infants now have an immediate food allergy.

5. Although 5% of adults may be allergic to one or more drugs, up to 15% believe that they have drug allergy, and therefore are frequently unnecessarily denied treatment with an indicated drug.

6. There is a lack of public awareness about the impact and appropriate management of allergic diseases.

7. Access to care is difficult, even in metropolitan areas, due to the high number of patients and low number of appropriately trained health care professionals, resulting in long waiting times to see a specialist

 

About the Conference

The Annual Scientific Meetings of The Australia and New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science and The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) is being held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Queensland from 27 March – 1 April 2015 (ANZSRS, 27 –29 March and TSANZ, 28 March – 1 April).  Media are invited to register for TSANZ for free. 

View the TSANZ Programor contact Petrana Lorenz to register.

Petrana Lorenz I Petrana.lorenz@ashm.org.au I 0405 158 636

 

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