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Kyvsgaard JN, Hesselberg LM, Sunde RB, Brustad N, Vahman N, Schoos AMM, Bønnelykke K, Stokholm J, Chawes BL. Burden and Subtypes of Early Life Infections Increase the Risk of Asthma. THE JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY. IN PRACTICE 2024; 12:2056-2065.e10. [PMID: 38609018 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2024.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early life respiratory tract infections have been linked to the development of asthma, but studies on the burden and subtypes of common infections in asthma development are sparse. OBJECTIVE To examine the association between burden of early life infections, including subtypes, with the risk of asthma from age 3 to 10 years and lung function at age 10 years. METHODS We included 662 children from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 birth cohort, for whom infections such as colds, acute tonsillitis, acute otitis media, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and fever were registered prospectively in daily diaries at age 0 to 3 years and asthma was diagnosed longitudinally from age 3 to 10 years. The association between the burden of infection and subtypes and risk of asthma was analyzed by generalized estimating equations. RESULTS The children experienced a median of 16 infections (interquartile range, 12-23 infections) at age 0 to 3 years. Children with a high burden of infections (above the median) had an increased risk of asthma at age 3 to 10 years (adjusted odds ratio = 3.61; 95% CI, 2.39-5.45; P < .001), which was driven by colds, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and fever episodes (P < .05) but not by acute otitis media and tonsillitis. Lower lung function measures at age 10 years were associated with the burden of pneumonia but not the overall infection burden. The association between colds and the risk of asthma was significantly higher in children with allergic rhinitis at age 6 years (P interaction = .032). CONCLUSION A high burden of early life infections in terms of colds, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and fever is associated with an increased risk of developing asthma, particularly in children with respiratory allergy. Strategies to diminish these early life infections may offer a path for the primary prevention of childhood asthma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Nyholm Kyvsgaard
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Pediatrics, Slagelse Hospital, Slagelse, Denmark
| | - Laura Marie Hesselberg
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rikke Bjersand Sunde
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Pediatrics, Slagelse Hospital, Slagelse, Denmark
| | - Nicklas Brustad
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nilo Vahman
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ann-Marie Malby Schoos
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Pediatrics, Slagelse Hospital, Slagelse, Denmark
| | - Klaus Bønnelykke
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jakob Stokholm
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Pediatrics, Slagelse Hospital, Slagelse, Denmark; Section of Microbiology and Fermentation, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Bo Lund Chawes
- Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Wolters AAB, Kersten ETG, Koppelman GH. Genetics of preschool wheeze and its progression to childhood asthma. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2024; 35:e14067. [PMID: 38284918 DOI: 10.1111/pai.14067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Wheezing is a common and heterogeneous condition in preschool children. In some countries, the prevalence can be as high as 30% and up to 50% of all children experience wheezing before the age of 6. Asthma often starts with preschool wheeze, but not all wheezing children will develop asthma at school age. At this moment, it is not possible to accurately predict which wheezing children will develop asthma. Recently, studying the genetics of wheeze and the childhood-onset of asthma have grown in interest. Childhood-onset asthma has a stronger heritability in comparison with adult-onset asthma. In early childhood asthma exacerbations, CDHR3, which encodes the receptor for Rhinovirus C, was identified, as well as IL33, and the 17q locus that includes GSDMB and ORMDL3 genes. The 17q locus is the strongest wheeze and childhood-onset asthma locus, and was shown to interact with many environmental factors, including smoking and infections. Finally, ANXA1 was recently associated with early-onset, persistent wheeze. ANXA1 may help resolve eosinophilic inflammation. Overall, despite its complexities, genetic approaches to unravel the early-onset of wheeze and asthma are promising, since these shed more light on mechanisms of childhood asthma-onset. Implicated genes point toward airway epithelium and its response to external factors, such as viral infections. However, the heterogeneity of wheeze phenotypes complicates genetic studies. It is therefore important to define accurate wheezing phenotypes and forge larger international collaborations to gain a better understanding of the pathways underlying early-onset asthma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba A B Wolters
- Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergology, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Groningen Research Institute for Asthma and COPD, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Elin T G Kersten
- Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergology, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Groningen Research Institute for Asthma and COPD, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Gerard H Koppelman
- Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergology, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Groningen Research Institute for Asthma and COPD, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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