sensitisation at age 6 years is associated with subsequent airway hyper-responsiveness in non-asthmatics.

In the non-selected birth cohort Tucson Children's Respiratory Study, early sensitisation to was associated with increased airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) into adult life among non-asthmatics. The increase in AHR was of a similar magnitude to that seen for sensitised asthmatics and was primarily evident among those who were overweight or obese. In contrast, there was no significant association between early sensitisation to aeroallergens other than and AHR among non-asthmatics. Why this group of sensitised individuals without asthma demonstrated increased AHR of a magnitude similar to asthmatics is unknown and requires further investigation.