Do childhood respiratory infections continue to influence adult respiratory morbidity?
Viral bronchiolitis during infancy can increase the risk of asthma in young adults, but there are few studies that monitor the effects of childhood respiratory infections on lung function in adults. This meta-analysis examines data from a prior study in which 9,175 individuals, age 20-44 yr, completed questionnaires to provide a family history and previous allergic and respiratory symptoms and underwent lung function testing. The subjects were reinvestigated an average of 8.9 years later. In the initial study, 9.6% reported a serious respiratory infection (SRI) before the age of 5 and in the second study, 2.4% reported being hospitalized for lung disease (HLD) before the age of 2. SRI was associated with increased risk of wheeze and asthma and reduced lung function. Similar results were found for HDL. An even stronger correlation for risk of adult lung disease was found among children with SRI or HLD from households with maternal smoking. Editor’s comment: The implication of this study
