Wang YC, et al. - Using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, researchers conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study to examine the relationship between enterovirus (EV) infection and asthma. They found a significant correlation between EV infection and asthma in children. They suggested that health providers ought to know about the higher potential for children with EV to develop asthma later on.

Methods

• Participants in the study were insured children who were younger than 18 years and had EV infection between 1997 and 2013 and were followed until December 2013.
• To analyze the risk of subsequent asthma, researchers identified 36,935 children with EV infection and compared them based on 36,935 age-, sex-, urbanization- and income-matched controls.
• They performed Cox regression analyses and adjusted for sex, age, urbanization, income, preterm labor and small for gestational age, perinatal complications, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and bronchiolitis.

Results

• According to the findings obtained, the mean follow-up interval for all patients was 8.59 years (standard deviation = 4.35 years).
• It was observed that the mean latency period between initial EV infection and onset of asthma was 2.77 years (standard deviation = 2.43 years).
• Data reported that EV infection was significantly related to a higher incidence of asthma (hazard ratio = 1.65; 95% confidence interval: 1.60–1.71).