Lower Respiratory Illnesses in Childhood Are Associated With the Presence of Air Trapping in Early Adulthood

Authors

Francesca Polverino
Debra A Stern
Eric M Snyder
Courtney Wheatley-Guy
Surya P Bhatt
Fernando D Martinez
Stefano Guerra
Wayne J Morgan

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Journal

Respiratory Medicine

DOI

10.1016/j.rmed.2022.107062

PMID

36508986

PMCID

PMC10389168

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

7-31-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Child, Young Adult, Humans, Child, Preschool, Adult, Risk Factors, Lung

Abstract

Several factors occurring in early life, including lower respiratory tract illnesses (LRIs), are involved in determining lung structure and function in adulthood, but the effects of these factors on lung development remain largely unknown. Hereby, we evaluated the parameters from computed tomography (CT) scans performed at the age of 26 years in 39 subjects from the birth cohort of the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study (TCRS) in order to determine the relationship between early childhood factors and lung structural changes in young adult life. We found that participants with LRIs in childhood had increased air trapping at the age of 26 suggesting an association between childhood infections and lung development.