REVIEW   

Minerva Pneumologica 2017 June;56(2):134-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4954.17.01780-1

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Association between childhood asthma and adult chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Andrew TAI ^{1, 2} ✉

¹ Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, Australia; ² Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, North Adelaide, Australia

There has been recent interest in understanding the origins of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Epidemiological studies suggest that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease clearly have other causes apart from tobacco smoke. Longitudinal cohort studies of from childhood to the adult years have demonstrated that children with asthma are at increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and that the deficit in lung function can be tracked back to early years.

KEY WORDS: Asthma - Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive - Longitudinal studies