Age-related changes in the asthmatic phenotype in children.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the changes in the asthma phenotype as children progress from childhood into young adulthood. RECENT FINDINGS: Some children with asthma in the early school years improve symptomatically during adolescence and young adulthood, with less frequent remissions and increased relapse rates in those with severe symptoms. During remission of symptoms, lung function abnormalities, airway hyper-responsiveness, and airway inflammation often persist. New data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program cohort show progression of lung function abnormalities during adolescence. SUMMARY: Most children with persistent asthma have persistent disease as adults, and lung function abnormalities continue to progress as these children age.