Children with asthma that goes into remission commonly experience a relapse before age 26 years, according to a new report.

Potential employers of young adults, such as the armed services or police department, often seek advice on the likelihood of future relapse in individuals who had asthma in childhood, the researchers explain in the medical journal Chest. That question has been difficult to answer.

Dr. D. Robin Taylor from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, and colleagues investigated how often relapse of asthma occurred, and any risk factors for relapse, in 68 individuals during an 8-year follow-up period.

The participants were 18 years old at the start of the study and had a history of asthma but were in remission at that age.

Sixteen patients reported wheezing at 21 years of age, which persisted at 26 years of age in 8 subjects, the authors report, for an overall relapse rate of 35 percent.

The team did notice some clinical differences between those who relapsed and those who didn’t, but these weren’t significant from a statistical standpoint.

However, house dust mite sensitization at 13 years of age and lower lung function at 18 years of age were independent risk factors for asthma relapse.

“Subsequent relapse of previously diagnosed asthma in remission at 18 years of age occurs in one in three young adults,” the investigators conclude. “Such relapse is not easily predicted, especially by measurements of airway responsiveness.”

They say that while it’s prudent for patients with previous asthma to avoid certain high-risk occupations, “a history of asthma in remission should not be used to prejudice employment opportunities for young adults.”

SOURCE: Chest, March 2005.