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Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
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Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels

Published on: August 7, 2017

Risk factors for asthma at 3.5 and 7 years of age

E A Mitchell1, E Robinson, P N Black

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. e.mitchell@auckland.ac.nz <e.mitchell@auckland.ac.nz

Clinical and Experimental Allergy : Journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|October 12, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Early life antibiotic use, daycare, and sleeping on used mattresses are linked to childhood wheezing. These factors increase asthma risk, particularly by age seven.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
  • Environmental Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Early life exposures, including allergens and microbes, may impact asthma development.
  • Childhood asthma remains a significant public health concern with multifactorial origins.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify key risk factors for asthma development in early childhood.
  • To investigate the association between various early-life exposures and the incidence of wheezing.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study of 871 children born to European mothers.
  • Data collected at birth, 12 months, 3.5 years, and 7 years, assessing wheeze via parental report.
  • Analysis included factors such as antibiotic use, daycare attendance, pet exposure, and sleeping environment.

Main Results:

  • Antibiotic use and daycare in the first year were associated with increased wheeze risk at 7 years (OR=4.3 and OR=2.8, respectively).
  • Exposure to dogs (OR=2.1) and sleeping on a used mattress (OR=1.8) were identified as risk factors for wheezing at both 3.5 and 7 years.
  • Wheeze prevalence was 23.8% at 3.5 years and 18.1% at 7 years.

Conclusions:

  • Antibiotic use and daycare in infancy are significant risk factors for persistent wheezing by age seven.
  • Sleeping on a used mattress in the first year of life is a novel, identified risk factor for childhood wheezing.
  • These findings highlight critical early-life environmental influences on asthma risk.
Abstract

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