Epidemiology of asthma: risk factors for development

Abstract

This comprehensive review of the recent literature was undertaken to determine the current state of knowledge of the risk factors involved in the development of asthma in order to focus investigations in a proposed new longitudinal birth cohort study. The origins of asthma appear to lie in the prenatal and early postnatal period, and renewed investigations in this period with long-term close follow-up and objective phenotypic characterization will help to unravel the role of the multiple putative environmental factors in the development of asthma. It is only after understanding these effects that one can hope to design rational prevention studies for asthma.

Keywords::

• allergy
• asthma
• child
• cohort study
• environment
• epidemiology
• genetics
• lung function
• phenotype
• risk factor

Acknowledgements

This work was carried out on behalf of the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study Investigators:

R Allen, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada; A Becker, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; D Befus, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; M Brauer, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; J Brook, Environment Canada, Toronto, Canada; M Cyr, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; E Chen, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; D Daley, James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre, Vancouver, Canada; S Dell, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; J Denburg, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; S Elliott, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; H Grasemann, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; K HayGlass, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; R Hegele, James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre, Vancouver, Canada; L Holness, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada; M Kobor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; T Kollmann, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; A Kozyrskyj, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; C Laprise, Chicoutimi University Hospital, Quebec, Canada; M Larché, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; W Lou, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; P Mandhane, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; G Miller, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; R Moqbel, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; P Paré, James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre, Vancouver , Canada; C Ramsey, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; F Ratjen, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; A Sandford, James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre, Vancouver, Canada; J Scott, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; M Sears, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; F Silverman, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; P Subbarao, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; S Tebbutt, James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre, Vancouver, Canada; T Takaro, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada; P Tang, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; T To, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada and S Turvey, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by The Allergy, Genes and Environment Network of Centers of Excellence(AllerGen NCE Inc.), a national multidisciplinary research network whose common aim is to support research, networking, commercialization, knowledge mobilization and capacity-building activities that contribute to reducing the morbidity, mortality and socioeconomic impact of allergic disease. AllerGen is a member of the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada programme, a joint initiative of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Industry Canada. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.