Invention:
This invention is a new index from a simple questionnaire that can predict with reasonable accuracy which children will develop asthma by 5-9 years of age. This involves a composite measure of symptoms of respiratory and non-respiratory illness collected in a research study on the first year of life in order to predict the development of childhood asthma. This index used in combination with parental history of asthma might provide a set of useful tools to predict which infants are at the highest risk for developing asthma by the time they are school age.
Background:
There is new research that traces the origins of asthma to prenatal and early life exposures. This research suggests that most cases of asthma have their start in exposures occurring in pregnancy and early life. Most currently available prediction tools have used wheezing during the first year of life as a clinical signal for asthma. However, this is not as useful during the first year of life when wheezing is a poorer predictor of asthma. There is a lack of tools that help identify symptomatic children at high risk for asthma during the first year of life.
Applications:
- Pediatric asthma diagnostic
- Asthma questionnaire
- Asthma research
Advantages:
- Earlier identification of pediatric asthma
- Better identification of pediatric asthma
- Index developed based on research with children and families
