Children with airway hyper-responsiveness, a symptom of asthma and allergic manifestations have an increased risk of developing asthma in adulthood.
Researchers from the Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, analysed 291 subjects for 12 years. The subjects were 7 to 17 years of age at enrolment in 1986. They provided information on asthma, allergies and lifestyle in 1986 and again in 1998 and also underwent asthma and allergy testing.
At entry in 1986, roughly 4 percent of the group had asthma. This increased to nearly 12 percent by the second survey. According to the team, wheezing in childhood raised the risk of asthma and allergic sensitisation to house dust mites in adulthood more than threefold. Having dermatitis as a child also raised the risk of asthma in adulthood.