The Interrelationship Between Persistent Asthma and Atopy in Children

Background: Childhood asthma is mainly developed by an interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Atopic asthma has been regarded as the most common form of asthma in the pediatric age group. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the role of atopy in inducing uncontrolled asthma in children. Materials and Methods: Seventy-five children between 1 to 14 years of age, referred to The Asthma and allergy clinics of Azad University hospitals for a period of one year because of wheezing and or chronic cough with a diagnosis of asthma were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. After scrutinizing the children’s medical history relevant to their asthmatic manifestations, they were evaluated with a skin prick test (SPT) for common aero and food allergens. Results: Thirty-five asthmatic children had positive SPTs with their mean age higher than those with negative skin test results (P≤0.0001). In those with positive SPTs, the symptoms recurred if the medications were discontinued within a month of symptom improvement (P=0.001). The same results were true considering the history of previous atopic disorders in response to the discontinuation of therapy (P<0.0001). Conclusion: To conclude, in most patients with negative skin tests, symptoms of asthma improved in less than a month from the initiation of appropriate therapies. However, in those with positive SPTs and a history of atopy, the symptoms recurred if the medications were discontinued within less than a month of symptom improvement (P=0.001 and P<0.0001, respectively).