During the global COVID-19 pandemic, parents were concerned about the impact of the virus on their children’s health, including its potential connection to asthma development. Recent research indicates no correlation between COVID-19 and increased asthma risk in children.
The potential impact of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, on asthma development in children is being explored, given previous findings linking respiratory viral infections like rhinovirus and RSV to asthma onset.
A recent study in Pediatrics from doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia indicates that children who tested positive for COVID-19 didn’t show an increased risk of developing asthma within the following 18 months compared to those who tested negative.
Researchers examined the electronic health records of more than 27,000 children aged 1 to 16 who underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 from March 2020 to February 2021 to draw their conclusion. PCR tests are reliable for detecting the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, considered the standard for COVID-19 diagnosis.
Children were separated into COVID-19 positive and negative groups, then monitored them for asthma diagnoses. Researchers found that 1.81% of COVID-19-positive kids developed asthma, compared to 2.13% of COVID-19-negative kids, a statistically insignificant difference. Thus, COVID-19 didn’t seem to significantly raise the risk of asthma in children.
Even after adjusting for these variables, no connection between COVID-19 and asthma emergence was found. Researchers suggest that unlike other viruses, COVID-19 prompts an immune response focused on eliminating infected cells rather than triggering allergic-type responses that could lead to asthma. This implies that COVID-19-induced inflammation may be less likely to cause lasting lung changes associated with asthma compared to other viruses.
A recent study offers reassuring news for parents: COVID-19 doesn’t seem to increase a child’s likelihood of developing asthma. Additionally, the study highlights that factors like race, obesity, premature birth, and allergies can elevate the risk of asthma in children. Understanding these influences can help doctors provide necessary monitoring and care to prevent asthma-related burdens for as many children as possible.