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Published on: August 7, 2017
Effects of COVID-19 pandemic-associated reduction in respiratory infections on infantile asthma development
Chinami Kaiga1,2, Manabu Miyamoto3, Takashi Matsushita1,2
1Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University Hachioji Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic
Area of Science:
- Pediatric respiratory health
- Epidemiology of childhood asthma
- Infectious disease impact on immune development
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to reduced respiratory infections in children.
- This reduction may have influenced the incidence of childhood asthma.
- Investigating this potential link is crucial for understanding early asthma development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between reduced viral infections during the COVID-19 pandemic and the incidence of asthma in young children.
- To compare asthma rates in infants born during the pandemic with age-matched cohorts from pre-pandemic periods.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan (starting Feb 2020) was studied.
- Questionnaire surveys on asthma and allergies were conducted at 18 months and 3 years of age.
- Data were compared with age-matched infants from the non-pandemic period.
Main Results:
- At 18 months, pandemic infants showed significantly lower asthma/asthmatic bronchitis incidence compared to non-pandemic controls.
- By age 3, no significant difference in asthma incidence was observed, despite increased respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in pandemic children.
- However, a longitudinal analysis showed increased asthma prevalence in pandemic children from 18 months to 3 years.
- Crucially, asthma incidence post-RSV infection was lower in pandemic infants.
Conclusions:
- Reduced respiratory infections during the COVID-19 pandemic may lower early childhood asthma incidence.
- RSV infection after 18 months appears to have minimal impact on asthma onset in this context.
- Preventing respiratory tract infections in early infancy is vital for mitigating asthma risk.
Background:
It is speculated that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-associated reduction in the prevalence of respiratory tract infections has influenced the incidence of asthma in young children.
Objectives:
We investigated an association between the reduction in viral infections and the reduction in asthma in young children.
Methods:
The subjects were infants born in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, which began in February 2020. A questionnaire survey related to asthma and allergy was conducted at 18 months and 3 years of age. These results were compared to those of age-matched infants during the nonpandemic period.
Results:
There were no epidemics of viral infectious diseases until the target child was 18 months old. At 18 months, the incidence of asthma/asthmatic bronchitis diagnosed by physicians in pandemic children was significantly lower than that in nonpandemic children. In 3-year-olds, no marked difference was observed between nonpandemic infants and pandemic children, except for an increase in respiratory syncytial virus infection in pandemic children. In a comparative study of the same children at ages 18 months and 3 years, an increased prevalence of asthma/asthmatic bronchitis was observed in pandemic children. Furthermore, the incidence of asthma after respiratory syncytial virus infection in pandemic infants was significantly lower than that in nonpandemic children.
Conclusion:
The COVID-19 pandemic-associated reduction in respiratory tract infections may have reduced the incidence of asthma in early childhood, and respiratory syncytial virus infection after 18 months of age had little effect on the onset of asthma. These results indicate the importance of preventing respiratory tract infections in early infancy.
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