INFANT symptoms such as wheezing, eczema, vomiting, and diarrhea in the first year of life may serve as early indicators of childhood asthma risk, according to a new study that offers promising insights into early identification strategies for the chronic respiratory disease. The findings come from the Infant Immune Study, which followed nearly 400 infants from birth to school age.
Researchers used a data-driven approach to uncover connections between early symptoms and asthma development by analyzing 11 respiratory and nonrespiratory symptoms reported at 6 and 9 months of age. Through multiple correspondence analysis and multivariable logistic regression, they identified three distinct symptom patterns, or latent dimensions, that predicted school-age asthma.
The most predictive factor was the intensity of illness, measured by the number of symptoms an infant experienced, indicating a strong link between overall symptom burden and later asthma. Two additional independent predictors emerged: one combining wheezing and eczema, and another related to gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. These associations suggest that asthma may not only stem from airway dysfunction but could also involve broader immune or gut-related pathways.
Of the 393 infants with complete data, 17% went on to develop asthma. The predictive model showed solid accuracy with an area under the ROC curve of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.64–0.78), and a bias-corrected Brier score of 0.136, indicating excellent calibration and discrimination.
These results underscore the importance of pediatric monitoring beyond just respiratory symptoms. Identifying high-risk infants based on early symptom clusters could open the door to earlier interventions and potentially alter the trajectory of asthma development before school age.
Reference: Rabe BA et al. Respiratory and nonrespiratory symptoms before age 1 year predict school-age asthma. JACI. 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2025.02.023.
