Characteristics of Young Atopic Adults with Self-Reported Past Wheeze and Airway Hyperresponsiveness

The present study aimed to illustrate clinical characteristics of spirometric measures and allergy sensitisation among young atopic adults who reported wheezing episodes before adulthood but were not diagnosed with asthma by physicians and have no current wheeze symptoms (self-reported past-wheezers), especially those who exhibited airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Fifty self-reported past-wheezers were divided into two groups according to AHR to methacholine. Spirometric functions and blood atopic parameters were compared in these groups with those in 25 age- matched atopic adults with a history of childhood asthma diagnosed by specialists but have no current wheeze symptoms (past-asthmatics) and in 60 counterparts without a previous and current wheezing episode (never-wheezers). Twenty-one of the 50 past-wheezers exhibited AHR (PC20