Introduction or background
Although childhood asthma is a risk factor for adult lung function disorders, the correlation
between childhood asthma control level and lung function growth remains unclear in Japan.
Aims and objectives
The correlation between childhood asthma control and early adulthood lung function growth
was investigated in this study.
Methods
We included 505 children with asthma from the Omuta City Air Pollution-Related Health
Damage Cohort Program. The characteristics and lung function of girls and boys aged 6?
11 years and 12? 17 years were compared between poor and good asthma control groups.
Results
Among the 505 children, 214 (42.4%) showed poor asthma control. The mean percentage
forced expiratory volume in 1 second predicted for girls and boys aged 6? 11 years (80.2%
and 79.2%, respectively) and 12? 17 years (80.0% and 81.1%, respectively) in the poor
control group was significantly lower than those of girls and boys aged 6? 11 years (87.9%
and 87.3%, respectively) and 12? 17 years (88.1% and 87.8%, respectively) in the good
control group. However, a linear regression model did not reveal between-group differences
in the slopes of lung function growth for both sexes. Girls (24.6%, P < 0.0001) and boys
(24.4%, P = 0.0026) in the poor control group had a significantly higher proportion of young
adults with obstructive ventilatory patterns than girls (1.4%) and boys (8.1%) in the good
control group.
Conclusion
Our findings revealed that poor childhood asthma control leaded to lung function disorders,
which suggest the importance of early asthma control in school children.