Factors associated with resolution of childhood asthma by the age of 17: Large cohort analysis

BACKGROUND: Many children with asthma will become asymptomatic during adolescence. In this study, we evaluated factors associated with recovery from asthma by the age of 17. METHODS: The medical records of 17‐year‐old conscripts to the Israeli army with asthma were compared with the records of conscripts with rigorously diagnosed resolved asthma. We assessed the association between the following parameters and asthma resolution: body mass index (BMI), recurrent rhinitis, birth season, socioeconomic level, and cognition. RESULTS: Sixty‐eight thousand and ninety conscripts with active asthma were compared to 14,695 with resolved asthma. In univariate analysis, rhinitis, overweight, underweight, higher socioeconomic level, and lower cognitive score were associated with active asthma (p < 0.001 for both sexes), but not the season of birth. In multivariate analysis, only overweight, underweight, rhinitis, and lower cognitive score (p < 0.001 for both sexes) remained significantly associated with persistence of asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Although association does not prove causation, our finding is another reason to encourage adolescents with asthma to maintain a normal body weight. Prospective interventional studies are needed in order to decide whether changing weight to ensure BMI is within the ideal range and controlling rhinitis increases the odds of resolution of asthma in adolescence.