AIRWAY REACTIVITY IN PARENTS OF INFANTS AND YOUNG-CHILDREN WITH RECURRENT WHEEZE - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Increased airway reactivity has been found in family members of school age children and adults with asthma. As the relation between recurren t wheeze in infancy and bronchial reactivity is not yet clear, it was decided to test bronchial reactivity to methacholine in both parents o f 50 preschool age children with recurrent wheeze and in 200 populatio n based controls matched for sex, age, smoking habits, and atopy. Whee zy children fulfilled the following criteria: first attack of wheezing before the age of 2 years, at least four wheezing episodes triggered by a respiratory infection, negative skin prick tests, and no symptoms related to allergy. Four parents and five controls did not undergo th e methacholine challenge because their forced expiratory volume in one second was <80% of the predicted value. Methacholine reactivity was n ot significantly different in parents and controls. In summary, an inc reased bronchial responsiveness was not found in parents of infants an d young children with recurrent wheeze triggered by infection.