Evidence of a Causal Role of Winter Virus Infection During Infancy in Early Childhood Asthma

Abstract

Wu P, Dupont WD, Griffin MR, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2008;178(11):1123–1129 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY. In the first year of life, ∼20% of children have ≥1 episode of respiratory illness with wheezing. Other studies have shown that certain respiratory viruses confer an increased risk of developing later childhood asthma. Whether these common respiratory viruses cause asthma or are a marker of individuals predisposed to developing asthma is unknown. The timing of birth in relation to the winter virus peak and whether this alters the risk of developing early childhood asthma are investigated in this study. STUDY POPULATION. A population-based, birth cohort study of 95 310 children who were born between 1995 and 2000 and followed through 2005, who …