Researchers say their findings will help physicians across the world intervene earlier and improve care for sufferers
Doctors can now predict if children as young as four will go on to develop asthma in their teenage years or adulthood – thanks to a project established 34 years ago.
Researchers at the University of Southampton reviewed data collected from 1,456 children born between 1989 and 1990 for a study by the David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre in Newport on the Isle of Wight.
Known as the Isle of Wight Birth Cohort, they had visits at ages one, two, four, 10, 18 and 26 years which included a detailed assessment of any allergies or asthma they had.
They found 85 per cent of wheezy children with sensitivities to a range of allergens – dust mite, cats, grass and a type of mould – at the age of four had developed asthma by 18.