Asthma, Rhinitis, Other Respiratory DiseasesRhinitis as an independent risk factor for adult-onset asthma☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Methods
We used data that were collected as part of the Tucson Epidemiologic Study of Obstructive Lung Diseases, a prospective cohort study of a stratified cluster sample of 1655 Anglo-white Tucson households enrolled between March 1972 and April 1973. Details of the enrollment process and interview techniques have been previously reported.17
Between 1972 and 1992, participating subjects were monitored in 12 periodic surveys taken approximately 1.5 to 2 years apart. During each survey, subjects
Results
In Table I the demographic and clinical characteristics of control subjects and asthmatic patients are compared.
Empty Cell Control subjects Asthmatic patients P value No. 2177 173 Years* of follow-up (mean ± SD) 11.6 ± 6.5 9.6 ± 5.2 <.001 Age† in years (n = 2350; mean ± SD) 52.96 ± 21.2 50.81 ± 19.3 NS Sex (n = 2350; % male) 47.3 33.5 .001 Positive skin test response (n = 2013; %) 40.1 56.4 <.001 IgE z score (n = 1771; mean ± SD) −0.025 ± 1.0
Discussion
We found rhinitis to be a significant and independent risk factor for adult-onset asthma before, as well as after, the age of 50 years.
The effect of rhinitis on the onset of asthma has been already investigated in longitudinal studies. Huovinen et al6 found that hay fever increased the risk of development of asthma during a 15-year follow-up period by 4 times among adult men and by 6 times among women. However, no information on atopic status was available. Similarly, in the cohort of Brown
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Cited by (0)
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Drs Guerra, Sherrill and Martinez were funded by a grant (HL 56177) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr Guerra is a fellow from the Institute of Respiratory Diseases, IRCCS Policlinico Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
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Reprint requests: Robert A. Barbee, MD, Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, PO Box 245030, Tucson, AZ 85724-5030.