Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and childhood asthma: a European collaborative analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the associations of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour in early childhood with asthma and reduced lung function in later childhood within a large collaborative study. DESIGN: Pooling of longitudinal data from collaborating birth cohorts using meta-analysis of separate cohort-specific estimates and analysis of individual participant data of all cohorts combined. SETTING: Children aged 0-18 years from 26 European birth cohorts. PARTICIPANTS: 136 071 individual children from 26 cohorts, with information on PA and/or sedentary behaviour in early childhood and asthma assessment in later childhood. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Questionnaire-based current asthma and lung function measured by spirometry (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity) at age 6-18 years. RESULTS: Questionnaire-based and accelerometry-based PA and sedentary behaviour at age 3-5 years was not associated with asthma at age 6-18 years (PA in hours/day adjusted OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.04; sedentary behaviour in hours/day adjusted OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.07). PA was not associated with lung function at any age. Analyses of sedentary behaviour and lung function showed inconsistent results. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced PA and increased sedentary behaviour before 6 years of age were not associated with the presence of asthma later in childhood.

Asthma Is Associated With Increased Sickness Absence Among Young Adults.

BACKGROUND: There is limited knowledge about how asthma affects sickness absence in young adulthood. OBJECTIVE: To examine how asthma and different asthma phenotypes affect sickness absence among young adults and potential modifying factors. A secondary aim was to estimate productivity losses related to sickness absence for asthma. METHODS: The study included 2391 participants from the Swedish population-based cohort BAMSE (Barn/Child, Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology). Information on asthma, asthma phenotypes, and lifestyle factors was collected from questionnaires and clinical examinations at age approximately 24 years (2016-2019). Information on sickness absence for longer than 14 days was obtained from a national register for the years 2020 and 2021. Associations between asthma, asthma phenotypes, and sickness absence were analyzed with logistic regression models adjusted for sex, birth year, education, and overweight status. RESULTS: At age 24 years, 272 (11.4%) fulfilled the definition of asthma. Sickness absence was more common among those with asthma than among those without (15.1% vs 8.7%; P = .001; adjusted odds ratio 1.73; 95% CI, 1.19-2.51). Analyses of asthma phenotypes showed that the association tended to be stronger for persistent asthma, uncontrolled asthma, and asthma in combination with rhinitis; no consistent differences were observed across phenotypes related to allergic sensitization or inflammation. The association tended to be stronger among those with overweight than among those with normal weight. Asthma, especially uncontrolled asthma, was associated with higher productivity losses from sickness absence. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma may be associated with higher sickness absence and productivity losses. Achieving better asthma control and reducing allergic symptoms may reduce sickness absence among individuals with asthma.

COVID-19 vaccine uptake among young adults: Influence of asthma and sociodemographic factors.

Background: Asthma was initially described as a risk factor for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among young adults with asthma is not well studied. Objective: The aims were to assess COVID-19 vaccine uptake among young adults in general and to explore potential determinants including sociodemographic factors and asthma. Methods: Participants from the population-based birth cohort BAMSE (Barn/Child, Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology) were included: 4,064 in the study population, 3,064 in a follow-up at age 24 years, and 2,049 in a COVID-19 follow-up (mean age, 26.5 years). Asthma and asthma-associated characteristics were assessed through questionnaires and clinical data. Data on all COVID-19 vaccines registered between January 1, 2021, and February 15, 2023, were extracted from the National Vaccination Register. Results: In the study population (n = 4,064), 53.9% had ≥3 COVID-19 vaccine doses registered. In the 24-year follow-up population (n = 3,064), vaccine uptake differed in relation to education (P < .001). Among the participants with university/college education, 65.7% had an uptake of ≥3 doses of vaccine, compared to 54.1% among the participants with elementary school/high school education. Participants with asthma had decreased odds of receiving ≥3 doses (adjusted odds ratio = 0.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.41-0.92) and ≥2 compared to peers without asthma. Those with uncontrolled disease also had decreased odds of receiving ≥3 doses (adjusted odds ratio = 0.30; 95% confidence interval, 0.13-0.66) and ≥2 compared to participants with controlled asthma. Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccine uptake among young adults is lower in individuals from households with lower socioeconomic status and among those with asthma, including uncontrolled asthma.

Infantile atopic dermatitis - increasing severity predicts negative impacts on maternal and infant sleep: a mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: While the impacts of atopic dermatitis (AD) on maternal and child sleep outcomes have been previously explored, less is known about the associations between infantile AD and sleep quality and quantity. OBJECTIVE: To describe the perceived causes of AD-associated maternal sleep disturbances and the association between AD severity and infant sleep outcomes. METHODS: Mothers with infants aged < 19 months old with a diagnosis of AD were recruited from social media and medical clinics in Winnipeg, Canada between October 2021 and May 2022. Infant AD severity was classified using maternal-reported data on the Patient-Oriented Scoring Atopic Dermatitis tool (PO-SCORAD). Quantitative data were collected via a series of questionnaires with a subset of mothers subsequently completing semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated in the discussion. RESULTS: Mothers of infants with moderate/severe AD (6/12) were more likely to report their infant suffering from a higher degree of sleeplessness (i.e., ≥ 5 on a scale of 0-10) over the past 48 h compared to mothers of infants with mild AD (0/18). This was supported by qualitative findings where mothers described how their infant's sleep quality and quantity worsened with AD severity. Additionally, 7/32 mothers reported that their child's AD, regardless of severity, disturbed their sleep. Maternal sleep loss was most commonly attributed to infant itching (6/7), followed by worry (4/7). CONCLUSION: Infantile AD severity was associated with worse sleep outcomes for both mothers and infants. We propose that maternal and infantile sleep quality and quantity can be improved by reducing AD severity through adherence to topical treatments.

Clinical implications of airway obstruction with normal or low FEV1 in childhood and adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Airway obstruction is defined by spirometry as a low forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio. This impaired ratio may originate from a low FEV1 (classic) or a normal FEV1 in combination with a large FVC (dysanaptic). The clinical implications of dysanaptic obstruction during childhood and adolescence in the general population remain unclear. AIMS: To investigate the association between airway obstruction with a low or normal FEV1 in childhood and adolescence, and asthma, wheezing and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). METHODS: In the BAMSE (Barn/Child, Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology; Sweden) and PIAMA (Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy; the Netherlands) birth cohorts, obstruction (FEV1:FVC ratio less than the lower limit of normal, LLN) at ages 8, 12 (PIAMA only) or 16 years was classified as classic (FEV1

Lung function in young adulthood in relation to moderate-to-late preterm birth.

Background: Moderate-to-late preterm birth (32 to <37 weeks of gestation) has been associated with impaired lung function in adolescence, but data in adulthood and physiological phenotyping beyond spirometry are scarce. We aimed to investigate lung function development from adolescence into young adulthood and to provide physiological phenotyping in individuals born moderate-to-late preterm. Methods: Lung function data from individuals born moderate-to-late preterm (n=110) and term (37 to <42 weeks of gestation, n=1895) in the Swedish birth cohort BAMSE were used for analysis and included dynamic spirometry, fractional exhaled nitric oxide and multiple breath nitrogen wash-out. Data from 16- and 24-year follow-ups were analysed using regression models stratified on sex and adjusted for smoking. Data-driven latent class analysis was used to phenotype moderate-to-late preterm individuals at 24 years, and groups were related to background factors. Results: Males born moderate-to-late preterm had lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) at 24 years of age (-0.28 z-score, p=0.045), compared to males born term. In females, no difference was seen at 24 years, partly explained by a significant catch up in FEV1 between 16 and 24 years (0.18 z-score, p=0.01). Lung function phenotypes described as "asthma-like", "dysanapsis-like" and "preterm reference" were identified within the preterm group. Maternal overweight in early pregnancy was associated with "asthma-like" group membership (OR 3.59, p=0.02). Conclusion: Our results show impaired FEV1 at peak lung function in males born moderate-to-late preterm, while females born moderate-to-late preterm had significant catch up between the ages of 16 and 24 years. Several phenotypes of lung function impairment exist in individuals born moderate-to-late preterm.