Neonatal rhinorrhea and elevated heart rate variability predict exercise-induced wheeze at age 4-11 years among females.

We demonstrated a link between infant rhinorrhea and school age exercise-induced wheeze (EIW) with evidence for a parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) pathway. A novel measure of heart rate variability influenced by PNS signaling, the ratio of root mean square of successive differences in heart beats measured in quiet versus active sleep (RMSSDQS:AS), was associated with infant rhinorrhea and predicted school age EIW, but only among females. We hypothesized that female infants with both higher RMSSDQS:AS and rhinorrhea would be at the greatest risk for school age EIW.