Brussee J E, Smit H A, Kerkhof M, Koopman L P, Wijga A H, Postma D S, Gerritsen J, Grobbee D E, Brunekreef B, de Jongste J C
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Prevention and Health Services Research, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Eur Respir J. 2005 Mar;25(3):455-61. doi: 10.1183/09031936.05.00079604.
Airway inflammation is an early feature of asthma. Early detection and anti-inflammatory treatment may have important therapeutic impact. Exhaled nitric oxide is a noninvasive marker of airway inflammation. The current study investigated the association between exhaled nitric oxide and asthma, wheezing phenotypes, atopy and blood eosinophilia in a large group of 4-yr-old children from the general population. All children participated in the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy study, a birth cohort study of high-risk (atopic mother) and low-risk children in the Netherlands. Nitric oxide levels were successfully determined in 429 children. Although there was overlap in the distribution of values of children with and without asthma or atopy, mean values were higher in children with atopy or doctor's diagnosed asthma (geometric mean (ppb) 9.4 and 10.0, respectively) as compared to those without (7.7 and 7.9). Values were highest in atopic symptomatic children. Values were not associated with wheezing phenotype or blood eosinophilia. This study is one of the few large-scale epidemiological studies among 4-yr-old children from the general population showing that children with symptoms of asthma and atopy have higher levels of exhaled nitric oxide than those without.
气道炎症是哮喘的早期特征。早期检测和抗炎治疗可能具有重要的治疗意义。呼出一氧化氮是气道炎症的一种非侵入性标志物。本研究调查了一大群4岁普通儿童中呼出一氧化氮与哮喘、喘息表型、特应性和血液嗜酸性粒细胞增多之间的关联。所有儿童均参与了哮喘与螨过敏的预防和发病率研究，这是一项针对荷兰高危（母亲有特应性）和低危儿童的出生队列研究。成功测定了429名儿童的一氧化氮水平。尽管有哮喘或特应性的儿童与无哮喘或特应性的儿童在数值分布上存在重叠，但有特应性或医生诊断为哮喘的儿童的平均值（几何平均值（ppb）分别为9.4和10.0）高于无哮喘或特应性的儿童（7.7和7.9）。特应性有症状儿童的数值最高。数值与喘息表型或血液嗜酸性粒细胞增多无关。本研究是针对普通人群中4岁儿童开展的少数大规模流行病学研究之一，表明有哮喘和特应性症状的儿童呼出一氧化氮水平高于无相关症状的儿童。
