Asthma: babies in daycare no less likely to develop childhood asthma
3 July 2009
Daycare attendance in infancy is not protective against asthma in later childhood, research shows (Am J Respir Crit Care Med, in press).
Despite suggestions that childcare could reduce later development of allergic diseases, a Dutch study of 4000 children found no decrease in airway hyper-responsiveness (airway sensitivity), allergies or asthma among those attending childcare.
The study, which followed the children prospectively until age 8, was the first to look at the links between childcare and airway hyper-responsiveness. It found that children in daycare younger than 2 years developed wheezing earlier than children never in daycare.
The wheezing resolved by the age of 4 so there was less steroid use between 4 and 8 years of age. However, at age 8 there was no decreased prevalence of asthma symptoms in these children. ‘Early daycare merely seems to shift the burden of respiratory morbidity [illness] to an earlier age, where it is more troublesome than at a later age,’ the researchers concluded.
Paediatric respiratory physician Professor Nick Freezer, medical director of Monash Children’s at Southern Health in Melbourne, said the study confirmed the role of viruses in the development of asthma in young children.
‘It confirms that if you go to daycare you’re more likely to be exposed to this [trigger] and to develop wheezing, and this is particularly the case if you have older siblings because you get the double whammy,’ said Professor Freezer, also a spokesperson for the National Asthma Council.
Last Reviewed: 03 July 2009
- 1. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, in press
