Is recurrent respiratory infection associated with allergic respiratory disease?

ABSTRACT

Objective: Respiratory infections cause high morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study aims to estimate the relationship between allergic respiratory diseases with the occurrence of recurrent respiratory infection (RRI) in children and adolescents. Methods: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire and a questionnaire that provides data on the history of respiratory infections and the use of antibiotics were used to obtain data from patients. The relationship between the presence of asthma or allergic rhinitis and the occurrence of respiratory infections in childhood was analyzed. Results: We interviewed the caregivers of 531 children aged 0 to 15 years. The average age of participants was 7.43 years, with females accounting for 52.2%. This study found significant relationship between: presence of asthma or allergic rhinitis with RRI, with prevalence ratio (PR) of 2.47 (1.51–4.02) and 1.61 (1.34–1.93), respectively; respiratory allergies with use of antibiotics for respiratory problems, with PR of 5.32 (2.17–13.0) for asthma and of 1.64 (1.29–2.09) for allergic rhinitis; asthma and allergic rhinitis with diseases of the lower respiratory airways, with PR of 7.82 (4.63–13.21) and 1.65 (1.38–1.96), respectively. In contrast, no relationship between upper respiratory airway diseases and asthma and allergic rhinitis was observed, with PR of 0.71 (0.35–1.48) and 1.30 (0.87–1.95), respectively. Conclusions: RRI is associated with previous atopic diseases, and these conditions should be considered when treating children.

KEYWORDS:

• Epidemiology
• immunopathogenesis
• rhinitis
• sinusitis
• children

Declaration of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Acknowledgements

We thank colleagues Carlos Kemper and Carlos Lemos for their patience and collaboration in providing space and guidance in statistical analysis. The authors wish to thank the financial FURI (URI support program) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).