Wheeze in the absence of asthma at age 8-10 is not associated with atopy in Manitoba children

Background Atopy in children with recurrent wheeze is the best predictor for persistent asthma. A high prevalence of atopy was found in children with recurrent wheeze who were at high risk of developing persistent asthma based on the Asthma Predictive Index (API)[1]. A newly modified API now includes allergic sensitization to aeroallergens and to foods as criteria for the risk assessment of persistent asthma in children with recurrent wheeze. However, associations between wheeze and atopy in the absence of asthma have not been extensively examined. Since atopy is considered a risk marker for asthma in children with recurrent wheeze, we predicted that it would not be associated with wheeze when asthma was absent.