Child asthma diagnoses declined more than 50% early in pandemic

Key takeaways:

• Asthma diagnosis rates among children fell by 52% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Children are getting fewer colds, possibly because of masking.

Pediatric asthma diagnoses decreased by more than 50% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings published in Respiratory Research.

The study’s authors cited similar findings in Japan and the United States.

“These results suggest that the pandemic caused many fewer children to develop asthma in various places around the world, at least early on,” Daniel B. Horton, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and assistant professor of epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health, said in a press release.

Using the HealthCore Integrated Research Database, Horton and colleagues identified patients aged younger than 18 years with no prior diagnosis of asthma. They defined incident asthma using an algorithm and compared rates of new diagnoses from 2020 with rates during 2019, 2018 and 2017.

New asthma diagnoses decreased by 52% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. to 3.05 per 1,000 children (95% CI 2.3-3.8) vs. a pre-pandemic rate of 6.4 (95% CI 5.89-6.92)

Horton and colleagues said masking and keeping children separated during the pandemic could be one reason for the decrease.

“We think this may have occurred in part because, earlier in the pandemic, children were separated, wearing masks and getting fewer regular colds that could trigger asthma,” Horton said. “No one wants to keep children out of school or separated, but having kids wear masks while they have a cold or the flu might be a way to keep other kids who are at risk for developing asthma a little safer.”

References:

Childhood asthma declines during COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/984278. Published March 31, 2023. Accessed April 3, 2023.