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Biomedical subjects

Catharine J Holberg

Publications and source records attributed to Catharine J Holberg.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Outcome of asthma and wheezing in the first 6 years of life: follow-up through adolescence.

RATIONALE: The effect of early life wheezing on respiratory function and continued symptoms through adolescence has not been fully described. Using data from a population-based birth cohort in Tucson, Arizona, we previously described four phenotypes based on the occurrence of wheezing lower respiratory illnesses before age 3 yr and active wheeze at age 6 yr: never wheezers (n = 425), transient early wheezers (n = 164), persistent wheezers (n = 113), and late-onset wheezers (n = 124). OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the prognosis for these phenotypes, with reference to lung function and symptoms, through adolescence. METHODS: Current wheeze was assessed by questionnaire, lung function was measured by conventional spirometry, and atopy was determined by skin prick tests. RESULTS: The prevalence of atopy and wheeze by age 16 yr was similar for never and transient wheezers and for persistent and late-onset wheezers. Both transient early, and persistent wheezers had significantly lower FEF(25-75) (-259 ml/s, p < 0.001, and -260 ml/s, p = 0.001, respectively), FEV1 (-75 ml, p = 0.02, and -87 ml, p = 0.03, respectively), and FEV1:FVC ratio (-1.9%, p = 0.002, and -2.5%, p = 0.001, respectively) through age 16 yr compared with never wheezers. Late-onset wheezers had levels of lung function similar to those of never wheezers through age 16 yr. There was no significant change in lung function among subjects with any of the four phenotypes, relative to their peers, from age 6 to 16 yr. CONCLUSION: Patterns of wheezing prevalence and levels of lung function are established by age 6 yr and do not appear to change significantly by age 16 yr in children who start having asthma-like symptoms during the preschool years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Relation of beta2-adrenoceptor polymorphisms at codons 16 and 27 to persistence of asthma symptoms after the onset of puberty.

BACKGROUND: It has long been recognized that many children with asthma outgrow the disease after the onset of puberty, but little is known about genetic factors influencing this outcome. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the polymorphisms at codons 16 and 27 of the beta2-adrenoceptor are significant predictors of the persistence of asthma during adolescence. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: We used data from the prospective Tucson Children's Respiratory Study. Children were genotyped for the polymorphisms at codons 16 and 27. The presence of wheezing/asthma was assessed by questionnaire from age 6 years up to the reported onset of puberty (prepubertal period) and after the onset of puberty up to age 16 years (adolescence). RESULTS: Among children who wheezed in the prepubertal period (n = 168), subjects homozygous for Gly at codon 16 were at significantly increased risk for persistent wheezing after puberty, as compared with carriers of the other genotypes (relative risk [RR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 1.92; p = 0.019). This relation was present among boys (RR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.41 to 3.36) but not girls (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.55 to 1.30), and increased linearly according to the frequency of wheezing episodes after the onset of puberty. These findings persisted after adjusting for ethnicity and other potential confounders and after selecting only white children. The polymorphism at codon 27 showed no relation with risk for persistent wheezing. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for a strong gender-specific effect of the Gly16 polymorphism on the persistence of asthma after the onset of puberty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Persistence of asthma symptoms during adolescence: role of obesity and age at the onset of puberty.

Little is known about rates and predictors of remission of childhood asthma after the onset of puberty. We used data collected at ages 6, 8, 11, 13, and 16 years from the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study, a population-based birth cohort. The onset of puberty was defined as the age of appearance of the first pubertal signs as reported by parents. Information on wheezing both before and after onset of puberty (mean +/- SD follow-up from onset of puberty, 4.2 +/- 1 year) was available for 781 children. Of these, 166 had asthma (either frequent wheezing or a physician-confirmed diagnosis plus any wheezing) in at least one survey before puberty. In this group, 58% of the children (97 of 166) reported the presence of wheezing after the onset of puberty (unremitting asthma). In contrast, only 30% (39 of 131) of the children with infrequent wheezing before puberty experienced wheezing episodes after the onset of puberty (unremitting wheezing). In addition to frequent wheezing before puberty, obesity, early onset of puberty, active sinusitis, and skin test sensitization were significant and independent predictors of unremitting asthma after the onset of puberty. Our findings from a population-based longitudinal cohort challenge the commonly held view that asthma usually remits during adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Segregation analysis of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in a general population in north Italy.

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) is an intermediate phenotype of asthma, with a heritability component of 30-67% and possible linkage to regions on chromosome arms 5q, 11q, and 20p. Familial correlation analysis and segregation analysis for BHR, using the FCOR and REGC programs of the S.A.G.E package, were performed to examine inheritance patterns of BHR in a general population of 1167 subjects in 550 families from the Po River Delta. BHR was assessed using the log(10) of the slope of the methacholine dose-response curve (log slope) for each subject who met inclusion criteria. Using multiple linear regression analysis, the log slope values were adjusted for age, age(2), sex, and height, and used in the familial correlation and segregation analyses. Father-offspring correlations are statistically significant, due specifically to high father-son correlations (r = 0.296, P < 0.001, adjusted values). Segregation analysis of BHR in the overall population, with and without a smoking covariate (number of packyears smoked), indicates an apparent absence of genetic transmission within families. However, in a segregation analysis of BHR in smoking families only, after adjusting for number of packyears smoked, the Mendelian transmission models could not be rejected. This may be evidence of a gene by smoking effect, and suggests that in families of smokers, a single locus gene may in part explain the inheritance of a compound phenotype (BHR x packyears).

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Associations between gender and measures of daytime somnolence in the Sleep Heart Health Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship of gender to subjective measures of sleepiness, including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), in a community-based population. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Multicenter Sleep Heart Health Study participants (N = 6.440, 52% women) recruited from ongoing cohort studies. INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MEASUREMENTS: Scores from the ESS, Sleep Heart Health Study daytime sleepiness and feeling unrested questions, polysomnography results (respiratory disturbance index at 4% desaturation), as well as data on difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep, insufficient sleep, sedative use, alcohol use, cardiovascular or respiratory disease, frequent awakening due to leg cramps. RESULTS: Women reported feeling sleepy as often as men did (odds ratio [OR] = 1.06; confidence interval [CI], 0.86-1.32), but women were less likely to have an ESS score > 10 (adjusted OR = 0.77; CI, 0.66-0.90) and more likely to report feeling unrested (adjusted OR = 1.39; CI, 1.14-1.69) than men. In men, the ESS score was more strongly correlated with reports of feeling unrested or sleepy compared to women. CONCLUSIONS: Men and women answer questions on sleepiness differently. Findings indicate that using the ESS to detect subjective sleepiness is more likely to identify men with sleepiness. Since the ESS is more strongly related to other subjective measures in men, the ESS may be a more sensitive measure of subjective sleepiness in men than in women.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Tucson Children's Respiratory Study: 1980 to present.

The Tucson Children's Respiratory Study (TCRS), begun in 1980, has followed 1246 subjects from birth together with their family members to delineate the complex interrelationships between a large number of potential risk factors, acute lower respiratory tract illnesses, and chronic lung disorders later in childhood and early adult life, especially asthma. Nine hundred seventy-four (78%) of the original subjects are still being followed. Among its numerous findings, the TCRS has (1) described various wheezing disorders (transient, nonatopic, atopic) and their characteristics; (2) developed an Asthma Predictive Index; (3) delineated the respiratory and atopic outcomes for children who had respiratory syncytial virus-related wheezing illnesses in infancy; and (4) evaluated a large number of risk factors for acute respiratory tract illnesses during the first 3 years of life. Future TCRS studies will focus on (1) factors in infancy and early childhood that relate to persistent asthma and atopy; (2) role of genetic factors in persistent asthma; and (3) determinants of lung function decline in early adult life.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2002

Influence of attendance at day care on the common cold from birth through 13 years of age.

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in the occurrence of the common cold during the first 13 years of life among children who attended different childcare settings early in life. DESIGN: The Tucson Children's Respiratory Study involves 1246 children enrolled at birth and followed up prospectively since May 1980 through October 1984. Children with data regarding day care use during the first 3 years of life were included in this investigation (n = 991). Parents reported the occurrence of frequent (> or = 4) colds during the past year by questionnaire when each child was 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, and 13 years of age. Child care at home (no unrelated children), at small day care (1-5 unrelated children), or at large day care (> or = 6 unrelated children) was reported retrospectively by parental questionnaire when the children were approximately 6 years old. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounding variables, compared with children at home those in large day care had more frequent colds at year 2 (odds ratio [OR], 1.9, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-3.4; P =.04), less frequent colds at years 6 (OR, 0.3, 95% CI, 0.1-0.9; P =.02) through 11 (OR, 0.4, 95% CI, 0.1-1.2; P =.09), and the same odds of frequent colds at year 13 (OR,1.0, 95% CI, 0.3-3.8; P =.95). In addition, compared with children in large day care for 1 year or less those attending large day care for more than 2 years had more frequent colds at year 2 (OR, 1.7, 95% CI, 1.0-3.0; P =.04), less frequent colds at years 6 (OR, 0.5, 95% CI, 0.2-1.1; P =.08), 8 (OR, 0.2, 95% CI, 0.1-1.0; P =.04), and 11 (OR, 0.3, 95% CI, 0.1-1.0; P =.05); and the same odds of frequent colds at year 13 (OR, 0.9, 95% CI, 0.3-2.9; P =.80). CONCLUSIONS: Attendance at large day care was associated with more common colds during the preschool years. However, it was found to protect against the common cold during the early school years, presumably through acquired immunity. This protection waned by 13 years of age.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Is there a common cold constitution?

OBJECTIVE: Constitutional factors might play a role in the susceptibility to clinical illness during the common cold. This study seeks to determine if the likelihood of developing frequent common colds persists during childhood. DESIGN: The Tucson Children's Respiratory Study involves 1246 children enrolled at birth and followed prospectively since 1980 and 1984. Parents reported the occurrence of frequent (> or =4) colds during the past year by questionnaire at 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, and 13 years of age. Blood for ex vivo interferon-gamma responses was obtained at 9 months and 11 years of age. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounding variables, children with frequent colds at year 2 or 3 were twice as likely to experience frequent colds at year 6 (relative risk [RR], 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-3.9), year 8 (RR, 2.6; 95% CI, 2.1-3.3), year 11 (RR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.8-3.1), and year 13 (RR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.4-3.3) compared with children who had infrequent colds at years 2 and 3. At 9 months of age, children who ultimately experienced persistent frequent colds had lower interferon-gamma titers than children without persistent frequent colds (3.05 +/- 1.61 vs 3.74 +/- 1.39, P =.016); this finding persisted at 11 years of age. CONCLUSION: These data suggest the existence of a common cold constitution, whereby some children are more susceptible to infection and/or the expression of clinical symptoms when infected than are other children.

Adolescent↗