MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
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Dr. Erin Marcotte[/caption]
Erin Marcotte, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research
Department of Pediatrics
University of Minnesota
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Marcotte: Recently there have been several studies that indicate a higher risk of immune-related disorders, such as type-I diabetes, asthma, and allergies, among children born by cesarean delivery. Our analysis used pooled data from 13 independent studies of childhood leukemia that were conducted in 9 different countries. We used data on over 33,000 children to investigate the relationship between birth by cesarean delivery and risk of childhood leukemia. We did not find an association between cesarean delivery overall and childhood leukemia. However, when we looked at emergency cesarean deliveries and pre-labor (planned) cesarean deliveries separately, we found a 23% increase in risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia among children born by pre-labor cesarean delivery.