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Published on: August 7, 2017

Severe asthma in childhood: assessed in 10 year olds in a birth cohort study

A Lang1, K H Carlsen, G Haaland

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Allergy
|August 12, 2008
PubMed

Insights

The prevalence of severe asthma in 10-year-olds is 0.5%, affecting 4.5% of children with current asthma. This study validates a definition for severe childhood asthma using clinical markers.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Epidemiology
  • Allergy and Immunology

Background:

  • Limited data exists on the prevalence of severe asthma in pediatric populations.
  • Investigating severe asthma prevalence in urban children is crucial for public health.
  • Evaluating clinical characteristics associated with severe asthma is necessary.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of severe asthma in a 10-year-old urban population.
  • To assess the clinical applicability of a defined severe asthma criterion.
  • To identify clinical features distinguishing severe from non-severe asthma in children.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective birth cohort (Environment and Childhood Asthma Study in Oslo) was utilized, with 616 children aged 10 years for prevalence.
  • Severe asthma was defined as poorly controlled asthma despite high-dose inhaled corticosteroid treatment (≥800 μg budesonide or equivalent).
  • Clinical assessments included spirometry, bronchial hyperresponsiveness testing, skin prick tests, and exhaled nitric oxide measurements.

Main Results:

  • The population point prevalence of current severe asthma at age 10 was 0.5% (3/616).
  • Among children with current asthma, 4.5% (3/67) met the criteria for severe asthma.
  • Children with severe asthma exhibited significantly higher rates of severe bronchial hyperresponsiveness, lower FEV1/FVC ratios, and higher Body Mass Index (BMI).

Conclusions:

  • Severe asthma affects 0.5% of 10-year-olds, representing 4.5% of those with current asthma.
  • The study supports the validity of the applied definition for severe childhood asthma based on clinical findings.
  • Findings highlight the importance of clinical characteristics in identifying and managing severe pediatric asthma.
Abstract

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