Outcome of childhood asthma in mid-adult life

Abstract

The children who were selected at 7, on the basis of parents’ responses to a questionnaire, had been classified in terms of wheeze as those who had never wheezed (controls) (n = 106); those with fewer than five episodes associated with apparent respiratory infection (mild wheezy bronchitis) (n = 75); those with five or more episodes associated with an apparent respiratory infection (wheezy bronchitis) (n = 107); and those with wheezing not associated with respiratory infection (asthma) (n = 113). A fifth group of children, with severe asthma (n = 79), was selected at age 10 from the same age cohort.