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Relationships among respiratory infections, triggers of attacks, and asthma severity in children

E P Sarafino1, J M Dillon

  • 1The College of New Jersey, Ewing 08628-0718, USA.

The Journal of Asthma : Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma
|September 29, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Asthma severity in children is linked to past and recent respiratory infections. Prior infections correlated with more asthma triggers, while recent infections linked to fewer triggers.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Environmental Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Respiratory infections are common in children and may influence asthma development and severity.
  • Asthma triggers vary widely, and their impact can be influenced by individual factors.
  • Understanding the interplay between infections, triggers, and asthma severity is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationships between prior and recent respiratory infections, asthma severity, and the impact of common asthma triggers in children.
  • To determine which asthma triggers are most strongly associated with infection history and asthma severity.
  • To provide insights into the multifactorial nature of childhood asthma.

Main Methods:

  • A survey was administered to 325 families, including 121 families with asthmatic children aged 2-20 years.
  • Data collected included frequencies of prior and recent respiratory infections, asthma severity, and the perceived impact of 12 common asthma triggers.
  • Pearson correlational analyses were employed to examine the relationships among these variables.

Main Results:

  • Significant positive correlations were found between the frequencies of prior and recent respiratory infections.
  • Prior infections correlated with the impact of most asthma triggers (except allergies), while recent infections correlated with fewer triggers (air pollution, smoke, respiratory infection, nighttime).
  • Asthma severity showed correlations with both prior and recent respiratory infections, and specifically with respiratory infection as a trigger.

Conclusions:

  • Both the history of respiratory infections and recent infections play a role in childhood asthma.
  • The impact of various asthma triggers on asthma attacks is influenced by the frequency of past and recent respiratory infections.
  • Respiratory infection itself is a significant trigger, particularly in relation to asthma severity.

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