Cord blood and maternal total eosinophil counts in relation to infant allergy

The predictive value of raised cord blood (CB) total eosinophil counts (TEC) with regard to atopic sensitisation was studied prospectively for 1 year in 53 Black, 52 White and 57 Mixed full-term newborns. The maternal TEC, in relation to the stress of labour, were also studied. Ethnic differences in the CB TEC were shown between the Black/White (p = 0.03) and the White/Mixed (p = 0.05) groups. The newborns sex, anatopic family history (aFH) and the method of birth had no influence on the CB TEC in any ethnic group. There were no unequivocal differences in CB TEC between those newborns who became atopic during infancy and those who did not in any of the ethnic groups, although in the Black infants, there was a marginal trend towards significance (p = 0.05). Raised CB TEC values do not, therefore, seem to be an inherited factor in terms of a predisposition for atopic disease.