Varicella Zoster Virus (Wild-Type) Infection, but not Varicella Vaccine, in Late Childhood Is Associated With Delayed Asthma Onset, Milder Symptoms, and Decreased Atopy

Abstract

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection, early in life, has been shown to have a protective role against the development of asthma and atopy in children. It is unknown whether VZV infection in late childhood and adolescence also has an asthma protective effect. We studied whether VZV infection in late childhood and adolescence, or administration of the live attenuated varicella vaccine, provides a similar protective effect. In the present study, we use a retrospective chart review of a pediatric practice (N = 62) to analyze the effect of wild-type (WT) VZV infection or recombinant varicella vaccine in children (age 3–21 years) diagnosed with asthma. We found (1) asthma onset occurred 9.4 ± 4.4 years after WT VZV infection (4.4 ± 2.2) by age 13.9 ± 6.5 years, but only 3.0 ± 1.7 years after recombinant vaccine (3.2 ± 3.0 years) at age 5.0 ± 3.6 years (P = 0.05); (2) asthma classifications were 61.5% intermittent, 15.4% mild persistent, and 23.1% moderate persistent after WT VZV infection, but were 30.0% inte...