Abstract
Objective: To determine the contribution of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to the subsequent development of severe asthma in different subgroups of children at risk of severe RSV disease.
Settings: The study was conducted in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Participants: The study comprised all children born in NSW between 2000 and
2010 with complete follow-up till 31 December 2011. The cohort was divided into
three subgroups: (1) non-Indigenous high-risk children: non-Indigenous children
born preterm or born with a low birth weight; (2) Indigenous children: children
of mothers whose Indigenous status was recorded as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait
Islander and (3) non-Indigenous standard risk children: all other
non-Indigenous term children.
Primary
outcome measure: Risk of
development of severe asthma in different subgroups of children who had RSV
hospitalisation in the first 2 years of life compared with those who did not.
Design: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis using
population-based linked administrative data. Extended Cox model was used to
determine HR and 95% CI around the HR for first asthma hospitalisation in
different subgroups of children.
Results: The cohort comprised 847 516 children born between 2000
and 2010. In the adjusted Cox model, the HR of first asthma hospitalisation was
higher and comparable across all subgroups of children who had RSV
hospitalisation compared with those who did not. The HR (95% CI) was highest in
children aged 2–3 years; 4.3 (95% CI 3.8 to 4.9) for high-risk, 4.0 (95% CI 3.3
to 4.8) for Indigenous and 3.9 (95% CI 3.7 to 4.1) for non-Indigenous standard
risk children. This risk persisted beyond 7 years of age.
Conclusion: This large study confirms a comparable increased risk of
first asthma hospitalisation following RSV disease in the first 2 years of life
across different subgroups children at risk.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e017936 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-6 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | BMJ Open |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Nov 2017 |