Pneumonia in the first 2 years of life, and asthma in preschool-age children

Background: The relationship between viral bronchiolitis in early infancy and subsequent wheezing and asthma has been well established. The aim of the present cross‐sectional study was to test the hypothesis that pneumonia severe enough to require hospitalization during the first 2 years of life could also be associated with asthma or asthma‐like symptoms in pre‐school children. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted with parents of children who were classified as exposed (n= 36) or non‐exposed (n= 84), based on whether they were hospitalized with radiologically confirmed pneumonia during the first 2 years of life. The main outcomes were ever physician‐diagnosed asthma, asthma‐like symptoms and use of anti‐asthmatic medications during the last 2 months and during the last 12 months. Results: The prevalence of ever physician‐diagnosed asthma was higher in the exposed group compared with the non‐exposed group (41.6% vs 22.6%, P= 0.01), with an adjusted prevalence ratio of 2.03 (95% confidence interval: 1.10–3.62). The exposed group had a trend toward a higher prevalence of asthma‐like symptoms and use of anti‐asthmatic medications during the last 2 months and during the last 12 months. Conclusions: Radiologically confirmed pneumonia in the first 2 years of life may be associated with asthma or asthma‐like symptoms in pre‐school children.