Background. The frequency of asthma increases in childhood and asthma is associated with risk factors varying across age groups. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of asthma and its associated risk factors in the first six years of life. Methods. Within the scope of the Adana Pediatric Allergy and Risk Factor (ADAPAR) birth cohort study, 203 infants that had experienced at least one wheezing attack during the first year of life were followed for asthma development until the age of six years. Additionally, 223 infants that were followed within the scope of the same study and had no wheezing attacks in the first year of life were assigned to the control group. Results. At the end of the sixth year, 46 (22.7%) infants were diagnosed with asthma and the use of antibiotics of the mother during pregnancy (OR: 2.98), the presence of allergic diseases in the mother (OR: 4.70) and sibling (OR:2.11), the presence of atopy (OR:4.76), and recurrence of wheezing in the first age (OR:17.35) were identified as risk factors for asthma. Conclusions. The prevalence of asthma at six years of age was higher than that of other studies. Prevention of infections at an early age and during pregnancy can reduce the prevalence of asthma.
___
1. Asher I, Pearce N. Global burden of asthma among children. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2014; 18: 1269-1278.
2. Doğruel D, Bingöl G, Altıntaş DU, Yılmaz M, Kendirli SG. Prevalence of and risk factors for atopic dermatitis: a birth cohort study of infants in southeast Turkey. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) 2016; 44: 214-220.
3. Cooper PJ, Chico ME, Guadalupe I, et al. Impact of early life exposures to geohelminth infections on the development of vaccine immunity, allergic sensitization, and allergic inflammatory diseases in children living in tropical Ecuador: the ECUAVIDA birth cohort study. BMC Infect Dis 2011; 11: 184.
4. Sordillo JE, Scirica CV, Rifas-Shiman SL, et al. Prenatal and infant exposure to acetaminophen and ibuprofen and the risk for wheeze and asthma in children. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2015; 135: 441-448.
5. Savenije OE, Granell R, Caudri D, et al. Comparison of childhood wheezing phenotypes in 2 birth cohorts: ALSPAC and PIAMA. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2011; 127: 1505-1512.e14.
6. Flexeder C, Thiering E, Bruske I, et al; GINIplus and LISAplus Study Group. Growth velocity during infancy and onset of asthma in school-aged children. Allergy 2012; 67: 257-264.
7. Alfonso J, Pérez S, Bou R, et al. Asthma prevalence and risk factors in school children: the RESPIR longitudinal study. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) 2020; 48: 223-231.
8. Gold DR, Burge HA, Carey V, Milton DK, PlattsMills T, Weiss ST. Predictors of repeated wheeze in the first year of life: the relative roles of cockroach, birth weight, acute lower respiratory illness, and maternal smoking. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1999; 160: 227-236.
9. Chong Neto HJ, Rosario NA, Sole D, Mallol J. Prevalence of recurrent wheezing in infants. J Pediatr (Rio J) 2007; 83: 357-362.
10. Wright RJ, Cohen S, Carey V, Weiss ST, Gold DR. Parental stress as a predictor of wheezing in infancy: a prospective birth-cohort study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165: 358-365.
11. Visser CA, Garcia-Marcos L, Eggink J, Brand PL. Prevalence and risk factors of wheeze in Dutch infants in their first year of life. Pediatr Pulmonol 2010; 45: 149-156.
12. Polk S, Sunyer J, Mu˜noz-Ortiz L, et al. A prospective study of Fel d1 and Der p1 exposure infancy and childhood wheezing. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2004; 170: 273-278.
13. Henderson J, Granell R, Heron J, et al. Associations of wheezing phenotypes in the first 6years of life with atopy, lung function and airway responsiveness in mid-childhood. Thorax 2008; 63: 974-980.
14. Matricardi PM, Illi S, Gruber C, et al. Wheezing in childhood: incidence, longitudinal patterns and factors predicting persistence. Eur Respir J 2008; 32: 585-592.
15. Carvajal-Uruena I, Garcia-Marcos L, BusquetsMonge R, et al. Geographic variation in the prevalence of asthma symptoms in Spanish children and adolescents. International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase 3, Spain. Arch Bronconeumol 2005; 41: 659-666.
16. Taussig LM, Wright AL, Holberg CJ, Halonen M, Morgan WJ, Martinez FD. Tucson children’s respiratory study: 1980 to present. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2003;111: 661-675.
17. Neuman A, Bergström A, Gustafsson P, et al. Infant wheeze, comorbidities and school age asthma. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2014; 25: 380-386.
18. Neto ACP, Solé D, Hirakata V, Schmid LS, Klock C, Barreto SSM. Risk factors for asthma in schoolchildren in Southern Brazil. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) 2020; 48: 237-243.
19. Melén E, Wickman M, Nordvall SL, van HageHamsten M, Lindfors A. Influence of early and current environmental exposure factors on sensitization and outcome of asthma in pre-school children. Allergy 2001; 56: 646-652.
20. Wegienka G, Johnson CC, Havstad S, Ownby DR, Nicholas C, Zoratti EM. Lifetime dog and cat exposure and dog and cat specific sensitization at age 18 years. Clin Exp Allergy 2011; 41: 979-986.
21. Strömberg Celind F, Wennergren G, Vasileiadou S, Alm B, Goksör E. Antibiotics in the first week of life were associated with atopic asthma at 12 years of age. Acta Paediatr 2018; 107: 1798-1804.
22. Stokholm J, Sevelsted A, Bønnelykke K, Bisgaard H. Maternal propensity for infections and risk of childhood asthma: a registry-based cohort study. Lancet Respir Med 2014; 2: 631-637.
23. McKeever TM, Lewis SA, Smith C, et al. Early exposure to infections and antibiotics and the incidence of allergic disease: a birth cohort study with the West Midlands General Practice Research Database. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002; 109: 43-50.
24. Vidal AC, Murphy SK, Murtha AP, et al. Associations between antibiotic exposure during pregnancy, birth weight and aberrant methylation at imprinted genes among offspring. Int J Obes (Lond) 2013; 37: 907-913.
25. Yoshida S, Ide K, Takeuchi M, Kawakami K. Prenatal and early-life antibiotic use and risk of childhood asthma: a retrospective cohort study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2018;29: 490-495.