Childhood asthma outcomes during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Findings from the PeARL multinational cohort
Members of the Paediatric Asthma in Real Life (PeARL) think tank initiative have recently published a paper showing a positive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood asthma.
The study included 1,054 children with asthma and 505 non-asthmatic control subjects, from 25 paediatric departments across 15 countries. During the pandemic children with asthma had no increase in risk of episodes of pyrexia, lower respiratory tract infections, emergency department visits or hospitalisations for any reason, compared to those children without asthma.
Furthermore, in comparison to the previous year children with asthma had fewer upper respiratory tract infections, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits and hospital admissions for any reason, asthma attacks and hospitalisation due to asthma. Two thirds of the children had improved asthma control, with 33.2% having an improvement that exceeded the minimally clinically important difference. Lung function measures were also improved during the pandemic.
It is predicted that the improvements seen are the result of social distancing, home sheltering and reduced school attendance, which have reduced exposure to asthma triggers (e.g., outdoor allergens, viral infections, physical exercise and air pollution). Increased medication adherence may have also played a role; indeed, self-reports of adherence were increased in the study population during the pandemic.
These data do not support the hypothesis that childhood asthma is a risk factor for COVID-19. Importantly, they highlight the potential to improve childhood asthma outcomes through environmental control, e.g., wearing of masks.
https://doi.org/10.1111/all.14787
