NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A history of bronchitis, pneumonia, or asthma in childhood appears to raise the risk of death from lung disease in adulthood, according to a UK study.
Dr. Bruno Galobardes, at the University of Bristol, and colleagues followed a group of men who attended Glasgow University between 1948 and 1968. A medical history had been obtained during university health examinations.
Among 9,544 students in the original group, 1,553 had died by 2001. The cause of death was lung disease in 6.3 percent, cardiovascular disease in 38.6 percent, cancer in 35.4 percent, external causes in 5.3 percent, and other causes in 14.4 percent.
A childhood history of bronchitis, pneumonia, or asthma was associated with a 57 percent higher risk of lung disease death in adulthood, the authors report in the journal Thorax. Subjects with bronchitis in childhood had a 38 percent higher risk of heart disease and stroke death as well.
However, the risk of lung cancer was not affected by lung disease in childhood, and there was no association with overall death rates or death due to cancer.
Among survivors, 4,044 completed postal questionnaires regarding current health. The results showed that early lung disease was associated with a higher risk of lung disease in adulthood, including chronic phlegm, shortness of breath, asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema.
These associations were seen in current smokers as well as in people who had never smoked before, the authors note.
SOURCE: Thorax, February 14, 2008 online.
