title: Gender- and age-specific risk factors for wheeze from birth through adolescence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cross-sectional gender differences in wheeze are well documented, but few studies have examined the gender-specific risk factors for wheeze longitudinally. This study aims to identify gender- and age-specific risk factors for wheeze from birth through adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  The incidence of wheeze was ascertained every 6 months through age 14 years in a birth cohort consisting of 499 children with a parental history of atopy. Gender- and age-specific risk factors were identified through generalized estimating equations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 454 (91.0%) and 351 (70.3%) children were followed past age 7 and 13 years, respectively. Maternal asthma was a risk factor for wheeze in girls (OR = 2.05, 95% CI 1.44-2.91, P < 0.0001) and boys (OR = 1.79, 1.29-2.48, P = 0.0004) and had a similar effect on wheeze throughout the ages. Paternal asthma (OR = 1.83, 1.38-2.57, P = 0.0005) and infant bronchiolitis (OR = 2.15, 1.47-3.14, P < 0.0001) were risk factors for boys only, with similar effects throughout the ages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using a prospective cohort, we identified gender- and age-specific risk factors for wheeze. The identification of gender-specific early life risk factors may allow for timely interventions and a more personalized approach to the treatment of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.|Department of Pediatrics, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Sze Man
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Tse
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusett.
authors.forename: Brent A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Coull
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Joanne E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sordillo
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Soma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Datta
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Diane R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gold
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications; D001900:Boston; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: asthma; bronchiolitis; parental asthma; sex differences