[Long-term follow-up studies of bronchial asthma in children. I. Prognosis and risk factors].

A questionnaire on the prognosis of bronchial asthma was sent in 1988 to 1,592 patients (1,038 males, 554 females) averaging 20 years of age after 12 years' follow up. The results were as follows: 75.6% in remission, 18.2% improved, 4.0% unchanged, 0.9% worse and 1.3% dead from asthma. The average age of onset was 2.7 years, about 1 year earlier than that in our report of 1965. The average age of remission (growing out of asthma) was 13.0 years for males and 12.3 years for females. The prognosis was significantly poorer among asthmatics with an onset age of under 2 years, with a 10-year history of asthma before the first visit to our hospital, with severe attack at the initial visit, a history of admissions for the attacks and food allergy. The asthmatic children with food allergy had a 1-year earlier onset of attack, a more severe attack at the initial visit, more eczema in infancy, and 2 or more other allergic complications than children without food allergy. We have to closely follow and care for those asthmatic children with high risk factors for an extended period.