Children with a family history of asthma have more than two-fold higher rates of asthma through age 4, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers used data from the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes consortium (May 1, 1980 through March 31, 2018) to evaluate childhood asthma incidence rates across the nation by core demo- graphic strata and parental history of asthma. The analysis included 31 birth cohorts (aged at least 34 gestational weeks to 18; 11,404 children, of whom 64% had no family history of asthma). Children with a family history had nearly dou- ble the incidence rate through the fourth year of life (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.94), after which rates converged with the group of children who had no family history. Asthma incidence rates among non-Hispanic Black children were mark- edly higher than those of non-Hispanic White children during the preschool years (IRR, 1.58), regardless of history, and became lower than those of White children after age 9-10 (IRR, 0.67) with no family history. For boys, rates declined with age, while rates among girls were relatively steady across all ages, particularly among those without a family history of asthma.
