Objectives: To determine whether infants exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) having the interleukin 4 (IL-4) or interleukin 13 (IL-13) gene polymorphisms were at increased risk of wheezing.
Study design: A birth cohort of 758 infants was evaluated annually by a questionnaire, physical examination, and skin prick testing. DNA samples from 560 children were genotyped for IL-4 C-589T and IL-13 C-1112T. The relationship of ETS exposure and genotype with the outcome of wheezing was analyzed.
Results: At the time of evaluation, mean age was 13.4 +/- 2.2 months. The prevalence of sensitization was 29%, and wheezing without a cold was 26.2%. The interaction of ETS exposure and the CT/TT genotypes for IL-4 C-589T showed a significant association with wheezing (odds ratio: 10.84; 95% confidence interval: 1.12-104.64, P = .04) in African-American infants.
Conclusions: In African-American infants with a family history of atopy, the interaction of ETS and IL-4 C-589T demonstrated a 10-fold risk associated with wheezing without a cold.