Asthma and Wheezing Develop By Age 6
Reported November 18, 2005

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children with asthma-like symptoms during their preschool years develop them by age 6, and the problems do not significantly change for at least 10 years, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson studied 826 children based on how often they had wheezing lower respiratory illnesses before age 3 and active wheeze at 6. They followed up on each child at ages 8, 11, 13, and 16.

"As we published in an earlier paper, transient early wheezers start life with levels of lung function that are significantly lower than those of children who had no wheezing episodes during the first six years of life," says Fernando D. Martinez, M.D., of the Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson. "We now confirm that these children continue to have lower levels of lung function at ages 11 and 16 years, and that, relative to their peers, their levels of lung function remain stable during their school years."

Based on previous findings, however, the authors believe compromised lung function during childhood could be strongly associated with a higher risk of bronchial hyperresponsiveness, lower lung function, and persistent asthma symptoms by age 42.

SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2005;172:1253-1258