No abstract

In clinically stable children with CF, systemic antibiotics result in greater short-term reduction in lower airways inflammation than inhaled antibiotics.

We previously observed greater ozone-induced lung function decrements in obese than non-obese women. Animal models suggest that obesity enhances ozone-induced airway reactivity and inflammation. In a controlled exposure study, we compared the acute effect of randomized 0.4ppm ozone and air exposures (2 h with intermittent light exercise) in obese (N = 20) (30

We examined the relationship between patterns of mild lower respiratory illness (LRI) experienced in early childhood and lung function in 89 boys and 70 girls 6 to 18 yr of age. The children's histories of outpatient visits for wheezing and nonwheezing LRI during the first 6 yr of life had been documented by physicians in a single pediatric practice. Most children were reported by their parents to have been free of recurrent respiratory symptoms during the 2 yr prior to lung function testing. In sex-specific analyses, average lung function assessed by spirometry was similar in children who had made zero or one physician visit for wheezing LRI during the preschool years. Boys who had experienced two or more episodes of wheezing LRI during the preschool years had lower average FEV1, FEV1/FVC, FEF25-75, Vmax50, and Vmax75 than did boys who had zero or one preschool wheezing illness. The association between recurrent preschool wheezing LRI and later lung function remained after exclusion of data from seven boys who were reported to have wheezed in the 2 yr prior to study. Girls who had experienced two or more preschool wheezing LRI had lower average FEF25-75 and Vmax50 than girls with a history of zero or one such illness, but differences were not statistically significant. Recurrent nonwheezing LRI during the preschool years was not significantly associated with subsequent lung function in either sex, regardless of preschool wheezing LRI history. Detailed information concerning early childhood LRI experience is valuable in epidemiologic studies of factors influencing lung function in children.

Correlates of recurrent wheezing were examined in a case-control study involving 343 children ranging from 7 to 12 yr of age and recruited from a general pediatric practice. Positive skin tests for allergy were observed in 35% of a random sample of children without recurrent wheezing, and in 77% and 90% of children who had experienced from two to four episodes and five or more episodes, respectively, of recent wheezing. By logistic regression analysis, sensitization to dust mite (odds ratio [OR]: 5.2; 95% CI: 3.0 to 9.0), cat (OR: 15.5; 95% CI: 3.4 to 70.8), and Alternaria (OR: 6.8; 95% CI: 2.1 to 21.5) antigens was consistently associated with recurrent wheezing. Sensitization to pollen antigen(s), observed in 60% of allergic children, was not associated with wheezing. A family history of asthma was a significant predictor of recurrent wheezing (OR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.7 to 5.9) after adjusting for its association with positive skin tests. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure was associated with an increased risk of recurrent wheezing in nonallergic children and in allergic females, but not in allergic males. ETS exposure was not associated with positive skin tests for allergy. A history of wheezing with respiratory illness before 2 yr of age was associated with a modest risk of recurrent wheezing between 7 and 12 yr of age (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2 to 4.6), a risk that did not differ by allergic status or gender. Theoretically, the prevalence of recurrent wheezing in this population could be reduced approximately 65% by controlling exposure to indoor allergens and ETS.