Rhinovirus-induced wheeze was associated with asthma development in predisposed children

Abstract

Aim: This study explored whether early-life factors, such as rhinovirus-induced wheeze and allergic sensitisation, were related to asthma at 11 years of age. Methods: We focused on 107 children aged 6–48 months, who attended the paediatric emergency department at Astrid Lindgren's Children's Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, with acute wheeze in 2008–2012. They also attended follow-up visits at 11 years of age and were compared with 46 age-matched healthy controls. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated with logistic regression. Results: We found that 62.6% of the acute wheeze cases had asthma at 11 years of age. Rhinoviruses at inclusion were the only common airway viruses associated with an increased asthma risk (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.02–5.6). Other increased risks were parental heredity for asthma and/or allergies (adjusted OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.1–9.9) and allergic sensitisation at 2 years of age (adjusted OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.02–8.7). The highest prevalence of asthma was when children had both rhinovirus-induced wheeze at inclusion and allergic sensitisation at 7 years of age. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of hereditary factors and allergic sensitisation on the development of asthma and suggest that rhinoviruses are associated with asthma development in predisposed children.