Low cortisol in infants' saliva related to fewer allergy symptoms

Infants with low concentrations of cortisol in their saliva develop fewer allergy symptoms and less allergic sensitization than infants with higher concentrations of the hormone, according to a study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, collected from 203 children saliva samples at six months of age and blood samples to analyze specific IgE at 6, 12 and 24 months of age. Symptom information was gathered by exams. The association between infancy salivary cortisol levels and allergic sensitization and allergic symptoms suggests the role of an altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the etiological process of allergies, the authors said.
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