Health-Related QoL in Children With Peanut Sensitization and Comorbid Asthma

Preschool children with comorbid asthma may be at greater risk for impaired health-related quality of life due to peanut sensitization associated with poorer asthma outcomes, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting held in Phoenix, AZ, February 25 to 28, 2022.

Peanut sensitization can occur early in childhood and often endures in the majority of children affected. Asthma affects nearly half of peanut-sensitized young children and researchers sought to evaluate whether children with comorbid asthma had increased respiratory morbidity associated with peanut sensitization. For study analysis, researchers used baseline and follow-up data for 1372 children (12-71 months of age) with asthma, merged from 4 multi-center clinical trials conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Children were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: group 1: no sensitization to aeroallergens or peanuts (n =739); group 2: sensitization to aeroallergens only (n =388); group 3: sensitization to aeroallergens and peanut (n =245). Primary outcomes were the occurrence of asthma exacerbations treated with systemic corticosteroids (SCS) during the observation period and the annualized rate of asthma exacerbations.

Findings showed that occurrence of asthma exacerbation treated with SCS was lowest among children in group 1 with no sensitization to aeroallergens or (34.0%) compared with children in groups 2 and 3 (38.9% and 51.9%, respectively; P <.001). Children in group 3 also had a higher annualized exacerbation rate (0.80±1.07) vs those in group 2 (0.61±.94) and group 1 (0.54±.95, P =.002). Exploratory analyses suggest young children sensitized to aeroallergens and peanut had more days with asthma symptoms and therefore a poorer quality of life.

Researchers concluded, “Peanut sensitization is associated with poorer asthma outcomes in preschool children with comorbid asthma.” They further noted that “Comorbid asthma may be a risk factor for impaired health-related quality of life in peanut sensitized children.”

Reference

Offerle T, Vickery B, Lee G, Fitzpatrick A. Peanut sensitization is associated with greater respiratory morbidity in preschool children with comorbid asthma. Presented at: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) 2022 Annual Meeting; February 25–28, 2022; Phoenix, AZ. Abstract 408.