The state of childhood asthma in young adulthood.

We investigated whether patients with childhood asthma had improved when reaching adulthood. We also evaluated factors which might influence the course of the disease. The study included a group of 108 asthmatics, diagnosed and monitored throughout childhood at the out-patients clinics of Oulu University Central Hospital. At the age of 20-24 yrs of age they were evaluated for the clinical state of their disease, ventilatory lung function and hyperreactivity of the airways. In the interval 30 (28%) had become totally free of symptoms, whilst 24 (22%) continued to have symptoms weekly, or more often. A quarter of the patients continued to use prophylactic medication, half still suffered from allergic rhinitis, and one third had atopic dermatitis. Skin prick tests showed at least one positive result in 86% of the patients, most often to animal danders. Ventilatory lung function tests showed forced vital capacity (FVC) to be within normal limits, but forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/FVC values less than -2 SD predicted were found in 18%. Forty eight percent of the asthmatics reacted to methacholine at a dose of 0.8 mg or lower, and the degree of airway reactivity showed a significant correlation with the current attack rate. The compliance to treatment of asthma was not adequate, as one third smoked and 81% lacked proper check-ups. Concomitant atopic dermatitis, severe early disease and impaired ventilatory lung function at school age, were observed to be significant risk factors for a severe asthma outcome as a young adult.