Wheezing illness and re-hospitalization in the first two years of life after neonatal respiratory distress syndrome

To determine the impact of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) on wheezing illnesses and re-hospitalizations in children as old as 2 years of age. We observed 2 geographically defined cohorts of children with RDS born after 26 weeks of gestation during 1990 to 1995 and 1996 to 1999 and gestationally paired control subjects. Recurrent wheezing illness and the re-hospitalizations caused by a respiratory condition were recorded. In the first year of life, 47 of 224 infants with RDS and 18 of 224 control subjects born in 1990 to 1995 had recurrent wheezing illness ( P