The natural history of respiratory symptoms in a cohort of adolescents.
A cohort of 2,289 children, previously studied at the age of 6-8 yr, were followed up by means of a postal questionnaire when aged 14 -16 yr to examine the association between potential risk factors and the natural history of respiratory symptoms. Children with current symptoms, persistent symptoms, and late-onset symptoms were identified and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the independent association between risk factors and these various symptom-based subgroups. Personal and family history of atopy was significantly associated with all symptom groups and with the presence of doctor-diagnosed asthma. Smoking, either active or passive, was shown to be significantly associated with current, persistent, and late-onset symptoms. Other factors shown to be significantly associated with certain symptom groups were gender (late-onset wheeze), single-parent households (current cough, persistent cough), social class (late-onset wheeze), number of children in the household (persistent wheeze, late-onset cough), number of furry pets in the household (current wheeze), birth weight (late-onset wheeze), and gas cookers (current wheeze, persistent wheeze). In a subgroup of children studied in more detail in 1987, bronchial hyperresponsiveness in 1987 was positively associated with persistent wheeze in 1995, whereas positive skin-prick testing in 1987 was not.
University Medicine, University Child Health, and Department of Medical Statistics, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, United Kingdom. nick.withers@virgin.net
N J
NJ
Withers
L
L
Low
S T
ST
Holgate
J B
JB
Clough
D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D003371:Cough; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution