Data Entry: Please note that the research database will be replaced by UNIverse by the end of October 2023. Please enter your data into the system https://universe-intern.unibas.ch. Thanks
Risk factors of new-onset asthma in adults: a population-based international cohort study
Journal
Allergy
Volume
65
Number
8
Pages / Article-Number
1021-30
Mesh terms
Adult; Age of Onset; Animals; Asthma, etiology; Bronchial Hyperreactivity, epidemiology; Cats, immunology; Cohort Studies; Europe, epidemiology; Female; Health Surveys; Humans; Hypersensitivity, Immediate, etiology; Incidence; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Population Surveillance, methods; Respiratory Function Tests; Respiratory Tract Infections, epidemiology; Risk Factors; Young Adult
Abstract
The occurrence of new-onset asthma during adulthood is common, but there is insufficient understanding of its determinants including the role of atopy. To assess the risk factors for the development of new-onset asthma in middle-aged adults and to compare them according to atopy. A longitudinal analysis of 9175 young adults who participated in two surveys of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) conducted 9 years apart. We observed 179 cases of new-onset asthma among 4588 participants who were free of asthma and reported at the beginning of the follow-up that they had never had asthma (4.5 per 1000 person-years). In a logistic regression, the following risk factors were found to increase the risk of new-onset asthma: female gender (OR: 1.97; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38, 2.81), bronchial hyperresponsiveness (3.25; 2.19, 4.83), atopy (1.55; 1.08, 2.21), FEV(1) < 100 % predicted (1.87; 1.34, 2.62), nasal allergy (1.98;1.39,2.84) and maternal asthma (1.91; 1.13; 3.21). Obesity, respiratory infections in early life and high-risk occupations increased the risk of new-onset asthma although we had limited power to confirm their role. Among the atopics, total IgE and sensitization to cat were independently related to the risk of new-onset asthma. The proportion of new-onset asthma attributable to atopy varied from 12% to 21%. Adults reporting that they had never had asthma were at a substantial risk of new-onset asthma as a result of multiple independent risk factors including lung function. Atopy explains a small proportion of new-onset adult asthma.
