Temperamental Differences Between Healthy, Asthmatic, and Allergic Children Before Onset of Illness: A Longitudinal Prospective Study of Asthma Development

Abstract

The authors investigated the link between children's temperament and the development of asthma and allergies. Prospective longitudinal data on children at the ages of 3-5 months, 3-5 years, and 7-9 years were collected. At age 7-9 years, analyses were performed on data for 3 groups of children (n = 42): those with asthma (no allergies), those with allergies (no asthma), and those with neither asthma nor allergies (the control group). Data for children who developed asthma or allergies prior to age 7-9 years were not analyzed. Differences were found in the premorbid period between the control group and the children who later developed asthma or allergies as well as between the asthma and allergy groups. After onset of illness, no temperamental differences were observed between the 3 groups. The study shows the importance of longitudinal design for asthma research.

Personality, Coping Style, and Constitutional Neuroimmunology

“…In fact, particular features of temperament and behavior have been found in children with allergy and asthma in a pre-morbid period (Kim et al, 1980;Lilljeqvist et al, 2002;Stevenson et al, 2003). High liability was shown to be typical for adults with atopic dermatitis (Scheich et al, 1993).…”

Early Sensory and Temperament Features in Infants Born to Mothers With Asthma: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Children with asthma have been reported to have more difficulties with cognitive capabilities (e.g., executive functioning; Irani et al, 2017) and behaviour (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Kaas et al, 2021). There is also some evidence that children with asthma differ in temperament from the general population (Kim et al, 1980;Lilljeqvist et al, 2002). Further, the relationships between child behaviour and maternal immune activation are potentially mediated by gut microbiome, subsequent to maternal immune status (Cenit et al, 2017;Stokholm et al, 2017).…”

Depression, Anxiety, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents and Young Adults With Allergies and Asthma

“…30 Specifically, Passalacqua and colleagues suggest that allergies and asthma may be a “united airways disease” 31(p7) due to the epidemiological relationship observed between the diseases and due to the effectiveness of treatments for allergies on asthma symptoms. Psychosocially, the common relationships between the diseases has been demonstrated by Lilljeqvist and colleagues, 32 who found that children with allergies and asthma demonstrated similar temperament, including more fussiness and increased activity levels, when compared with healthy controls. Additionally, Juniper 33 found that individuals with asthma and with allergies exhibited poorer HRQOL when compared with peers.…”