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. 2011 Mar;37(3):523-31.
doi: 10.1183/09031936.00021210. Epub 2010 Jul 15.

Exhaled nitric oxide, susceptibility and new-onset asthma in the Children's Health Study

T M Bastain  1 , T Islam, K T Berhane, R S McConnell, E B Rappaport, M T Salam, W S Linn, E L Avol, Y Zhang, F D Gilliland
Affiliations

Exhaled nitric oxide, susceptibility and new-onset asthma in the Children's Health Study

T M Bastain et al. Eur Respir J. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

A substantial body of evidence suggests an aetiological role of inflammation, and oxidative and nitrosative stress in asthma pathogenesis. Exhaled nitric oxide fraction (F(eNO)) may provide a noninvasive marker of oxidative and nitrosative stress, and aspects of airway inflammation. We examined whether children with elevated F(eNO) are at increased risk for new-onset asthma. We prospectively followed 2,206 asthma-free children (age 7-10 yrs) who participated in the Children's Health Study. We measured F(eNO) and followed these children for 3 yrs to ascertain incident asthma cases. Cox proportional hazard models were fitted to examine the association between F(eNO) and new-onset asthma. We found that F(eNO) was associated with increased risk of new-onset asthma. Children in the highest F(eNO) quartile had more than a two-fold increased risk of new-onset asthma compared to those with the lowest quartile (hazard ratio 2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.5). This effect did not vary with the child's history of respiratory allergic symptoms. However, the effect of elevated F(eNO) on new-onset asthma was most apparent among those without a parental history of asthma. Our results indicate that children with elevated F(eNO) are at increased risk for new-onset asthma, especially if they have no parental history of asthma.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of Exhaled Nitric Oxide at Baseline.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hazard Ratio Function of the Effect of Exhaled NO on New Onset Asthma. The model was fit for subjects with FeNO <= 40 ppb (approximately 95% of subjects) due to sparseness of data above 40 ppb.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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