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Airway responsiveness in early infancy predicts asthma, lung function, and respiratory symptoms by school age

L J Palmer1, P J Rye, N A Gibson

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. reljp@channing.harvard.edu

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
|February 24, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Infant airway responsiveness predicts later asthma development. Early airway hyperresponsiveness in babies is linked to reduced lung function and increased asthma risk by age six.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Allergy and Immunology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Asthma is a leading chronic childhood illness.
  • The link between infant airway responsiveness and later asthma development is not well understood.
  • Early identification of risk factors for childhood asthma is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between airway responsiveness in 1-month-old infants and asthma development by age 6.
  • To determine if early airway responsiveness predicts lung function, atopy, and respiratory symptoms at age 6.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study of 95 infants from a birth cohort.
  • Assessed airway responsiveness to histamine, spirometry, and skin reactivity at 1 month and 6 years.
  • Measured total serum IgE, blood eosinophils, and collected family/symptom histories.

Main Results:

  • Increased airway responsiveness at 1 month was significantly associated with decreased FEV1 and FVC at 6 years (p < 0.001).
  • Early airway responsiveness strongly predicted physician-diagnosed asthma (p < 0.001) and lower respiratory symptoms (p < 0.05) at age 6.
  • No other infant physiologic factors showed comparable associations with 6-year outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Airway responsiveness in early infancy is a significant predictor of abnormal airway function and asthma development by age 6.
  • Infant airway responsiveness identifies a functional state associated with future respiratory health issues.
  • These findings highlight the importance of early-life airway assessment for predicting childhood asthma.

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