Search

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may originate in early life and share disease mechanisms with asthma-like symptoms in early childhood. This possibility remains unexplored on account of the lack of long-term prospective studies from infancy to the onset of COPD., Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship between asthma-like symptoms in young children and development of COPD., Methods: In a population-based cohort of women who gave birth at the central hospital in Copenhagen during period from 1959 to 1961, we investigated data from 3290 mother-child pairs who attended examinations during pregnancy and when the children were aged 1, 3, and 6 years. COPD was assessed from the Danish national registries on hospitalizations and prescription medication since 1994. A subgroup of 930 individuals underwent spirometry testing at age 50 years., Results: Of the 3290 children, 1 in 4 had a history of asthma-like symptoms in early childhood. The adjusted hazard ratio for hospitalization for COPD was 1.88 (95% CI = 1.32-2.68), and the odds ratio for prescription of long-acting muscarinic antagonists was 2.27 (95% CI = 1.38-3.70). Asthma-like symptoms in early childhood were also associated with a reduced FEV 1 percent predicted and an FEV 1 -to-forced vital capacity ratio at age 50 years (-3.36% [95% CI = -5.47 to -1.24] and -1.28 [95% CI = -2.17 to -0.38], respectively) and with COPD defined according to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage higher than 1 (odds ratio = 1.96 [95% CI = 1.13-3.34])., Conclusion: This 60-year prospective follow-up of a mother-child cohort demonstrated a doubled risk for COPD from childhood asthma-like symptoms., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To assess our prospective mother-child cohort and the national registry data to analyze the risk of asthma by delivery mode and whether cesarean delivery before or after membrane rupture affects this risk differently., Study Design: The Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood2000 is a high-risk birth cohort of 411 Danish children. Asthma was diagnosed prospectively by physicians at the research site, and associations with cesarean delivery were investigated using Cox proportional hazard models. From the Danish national prospective registry we included data from 1997-2010. Childhood asthma was defined from recurrent use of inhaled corticosteroids filled at pharmacies. Cesarean delivery was classified as either before or after rupture of membranes, and the risk of asthma was compared with vaginal delivery. Results were adjusted stepwise for age and calendar year, sex, birth weight, gestational age, multiple births, parity, and maternal factors (age, smoking/antibiotics during pregnancy, employment status, and asthma)., Results: In the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood2000 cohort, the adjusted hazard ratio for asthma was increased by cesarean delivery relative to vaginal birth 2.18 (1.27-3.73). Registry data replicated these findings. Cesarean delivery performed before rupture of membranes carried significantly higher risk of asthma, (incidence rate ratio to vaginal delivery 1.20 [1.16-1.23]) than cesarean delivery after rupture of membranes (incidence rate ratio to vaginal delivery 1.12 [1.09-1.16])., Conclusions: We confirmed cesarean delivery to be a risk factor for childhood asthma. This effect was more pronounced for cesarean delivery performed before rupture of membranes., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Wheezy episodes in young children are often triggered by viral and bacterial respiratory tract infections, but there is little evidence supporting the hypothesis that symptom duration depends on the specific microbial trigger., Objective: We sought to investigate whether the duration of wheezy episodes in young children depends on the microbial trigger., Methods: Two hundred eighty-three children from the Copenhagen Prospective Study on Asthma in Childhood2000 at-risk birth cohort were prospectively examined for common airway pathogenic bacteria and viruses during acute wheezy episodes in the first 3 years of life. Findings were related to symptomatic duration of episodes, as monitored in daily diary cards from birth., Results: Eight hundred thirty-seven samples were investigated for viruses, bacteria, or both. Both viruses and bacteria were identified in 55% of episodes, bacteria were identified exclusively in 31% of episodes, and viruses were identified exclusively in 10% of episodes. The median duration of acute symptoms was 9 days (interquartile range, 5-16 days), and duration was independent of bacterial or viral species., Conclusions: The duration of wheezy episodes was independent of pathogenic airway bacterial or viral species. This suggests that symptom burden from infections is dependent on other factors, such as environmental exposures or host factors. The common term viral wheeze seems inappropriate in view of the finding of pathogenic bacteria in 86% of wheezy episodes., (Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Lower respiratory tract infections in the first years of life are associated with later asthma, and this observation has led to a focus on the potential causal role of specific respiratory viruses, such as rhinoviruses and respiratory syncytial virus, in asthma development. However, many respiratory viruses and bacteria trigger similar respiratory symptoms and it is possible that the important risk factors for asthma are the underlying susceptibility to infection and the exaggerated reaction to such triggers rather than the particular triggering agent., Objective: We sought to study the association between specific infections in early life and development of asthma later in childhood., Methods: Three hundred thirteen children were followed prospectively in the Copenhagen Prospective Studies of Asthma in Childhood2000 high-risk birth cohort. Nine respiratory virus types (respiratory syncytial virus, rhinoviruses, other picornaviruses, coronaviruses 229E and OC43, parainfluenza viruses 1-3, influenza viruses AH1, AH3, and B, human metapneumovirus, adenoviruses, and bocavirus) and 3 pathogenic airway bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis) were identified in airway secretions sampled during episodes of troublesome lung symptoms in the first 3 years of life. Asthma was determined by age 7 years., Results: In unadjusted analyses, all viruses and pathogenic bacteria identified during episodes of troublesome lung symptoms were associated with increased risk of asthma by age 7 years with similar odds ratios for all viruses and pathogenic bacteria. After adjustment for the frequency of respiratory episodes, the particular triggers were no longer associated with asthma., Conclusion: The number of respiratory episodes in the first years of life, but not the particular viral trigger, was associated with later asthma development. This suggests that future research should focus on the susceptibility and exaggerated response to lower respiratory tract infections in general rather than on the specific triggering agent., (Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)