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Maternal positive skin prick test results and asthma prediction after early childhood wheezing
Arnon Elizur1, Noam Pollack, Sarah E Boslaugh
1Assaf Harofe Medical Center, Zerrifin, Israel. elizur_a@kids.wustl.edu
Insights
Parental positive skin prick test results, particularly from mothers, significantly predict childhood asthma development in infants with wheezing history. This finding offers a new predictive marker for early asthma risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Genetics and Genomics
Background:
- Previous asthma prediction models relied on parental history, not objective allergy markers.
- Wheezing infants are a key group for identifying early asthma predictors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if positive parental skin prick test (SPT) results predict asthma development in children with early wheezing.
- To assess the predictive value of parental SPT compared to self-reported history.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of 91 individuals (age 6-40) with prior wheezing.
- Participants and their parents underwent SPT; participants had pulmonary function tests.
- Asthma diagnosis based on symptoms, pulmonary function, and SPT results.
Main Results:
- Asthma diagnosed in 61% of participants.
- Maternal positive SPT results showed a 3.4-fold increased risk of asthma (P=.02).
- Parental self-reported asthma or allergy history did not predict asthma development.
Conclusions:
- Positive parental SPT results, especially maternal, are significant predictors of childhood asthma.
- SPT offers a more reliable predictive marker than parental history for asthma in wheezing infants.
- Identifies a high-risk group for targeted asthma prevention strategies.
Background:
Previous studies have used parental history of asthma or allergy but not positive skin prick test results to predict the evolution of asthma in wheezing infants.
Objective:
To determine whether positive parental skin prick test results serve as a predictive factor for the subsequent development of asthma in a child with a history of wheezing before the age of 3 years.
Methods:
In a retrospective cohort study we investigated 91 individuals from 71 families. Enrollment criteria were age 6 to 40 years, history of wheezing before the age of 3 years, and no chronic lung disease other than asthma. Each participant was asked about current asthma-related symptoms, underwent pulmonary function testing, and underwent skin prick testing. Participants' parents underwent skin prick testing and measurement of total serum IgE levels.
Results:
Asthma was diagnosed in 56 participants (61%). Although maternal positive skin prick test results conferred a 3.4-fold risk of asthma (P = .02), neither the mother's nor the father's self-reported allergy or asthma was predictive of later development of asthma.
Conclusion:
The presence of parental, and especially maternal, positive skin prick test results is a significant predictive factor for the subsequent development of asthma in early childhood wheezing.
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