Maternal positive skin prick test results and asthma prediction after early childhood wheezing.

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have used parental history of asthma or allergy but not positive skin prick test results to predict the evolution of asthma in wheezing infants.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether positive parental skin prick test results serve as a predictive factor for the subsequent development of asthma in a child with a history of wheezing before the age of 3 years.

METHODS

In a retrospective cohort study we investigated 91 individuals from 71 families. Enrollment criteria were age 6 to 40 years, history of wheezing before the age of 3 years, and no chronic lung disease other than asthma. Each participant was asked about current asthma-related symptoms, underwent pulmonary function testing, and underwent skin prick testing. Participants' parents underwent skin prick testing and measurement of total serum IgE levels.

RESULTS

Asthma was diagnosed in 56 participants (61%). Although maternal positive skin prick test results conferred a 3.4-fold risk of asthma (P = .02), neither the mother's nor the father's self-reported allergy or asthma was predictive of later development of asthma.

CONCLUSION

The presence of parental, and especially maternal, positive skin prick test results is a significant predictive factor for the subsequent development of asthma in early childhood wheezing.