Maternal positive skin prick test results and asthma prediction after early childhood wheezing.

Background: Previous studies have used parental history of asthma or allergy but not positive skin prick test results to predict the evolution of asthma in wheezing infants.

Objective: To determine whether positive parental skin prick test results serve as a predictive factor for the subsequent development of asthma in a child with a history of wheezing before the age of 3 years.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study we investigated 91 individuals from 71 families. Enrollment criteria were age 6 to 40 years, history of wheezing before the age of 3 years, and no chronic lung disease other than asthma. Each participant was asked about current asthma-related symptoms, underwent pulmonary function testing, and underwent skin prick testing. Participants' parents underwent skin prick testing and measurement of total serum IgE levels.

Results: Asthma was diagnosed in 56 participants (61%). Although maternal positive skin prick test results conferred a 3.4-fold risk of asthma (P = .02), neither the mother's nor the father's self-reported allergy or asthma was predictive of later development of asthma.

Conclusion: The presence of parental, and especially maternal, positive skin prick test results is a significant predictive factor for the subsequent development of asthma in early childhood wheezing.