ContextHospital-based studies have found that increased susceptibility to certain infections
is associated with low serum levels of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) due to MBL variant
alleles. However, the contribution of MBL insufficiency to incidence of common childhood
infections at a population level is unknown. ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of MBL
insufficiency on risk for acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) in unselected children younger
than 2 years. Design and SettingPopulation-based, prospective, cohort study conducted in …