Early viral infections protect against later asthma

It is still not clear whether infections in early life protect against developing asthma. Illi et al (p 390) used a birth cohort study to show that repeated lower respiratory tract infections early in life were associated with increased risk of wheeze up to the age of 7. In contrast, the total burden of infections was inversely associated with the subsequent development of asthma. This effect was mainly due to repeated episodes of runny nose, herpes infections, and measles. The authors say that repeated viral infections (except for lower respiratory tract infections) may stimulate the immature immune system and so reduce the risk of asthma later.

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Early childhood infectious diseases and the development of asthma up to school age: a birth cohort study

Sabina Illi, Erika von Mutius, Susanne Lau, Renate Bergmann, Bodo Niggemann, Christine Sommerfeld, Ulrich Wahn, and the MAS Group
BMJ 2001 322: 390-395. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]