Skip to main content
PMC home page
Archives of Disease in Childhood logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood
. 2000 Feb;82(2):131–135. doi: 10.1136/adc.82.2.131

Gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with asthma

C Caffarelli 1, F M Deriu 1, V Terzi 1, F Perrone 1, G d Angelis 1, D Atherton 1
PMCID: PMC1718218  PMID: 10648366

Abstract

AIMS—Minor gastrointestinal abnormalities have been reported in children with asthma, but the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in these children has not been studied.
METHODS—75 children with bronchial asthma and an age and sex matched control group were recruited. Parents completed a questionnaire on gastrointestinal symptoms and on asthma. Weight and height were measured; a clinical evaluation of asthma was undertaken and skin prick tests were performed.
RESULTS—Children with asthma had a significantly greater frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, than did controls. Gastrointestinal symptoms were slightly more common in children with atopic symptoms other than asthma, or with positive skin prick tests to foods. There was no association between current gastrointestinal symptoms and medications or attacks of asthma.
CONCLUSIONS—The occurrence of gastrointestinal symptoms appears to be common in children with asthma. These symptoms might be caused by an atopic gastroenteropathy, which might play a part in the pathogenesis of asthma in some cases.



Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (116.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Balfour-Lynn L. Growth and childhood asthma. Arch Dis Child. 1986 Nov;61(11):1049–1055. doi: 10.1136/adc.61.11.1049. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baqui A. H., Black R. E., Yunus M., Hoque A. R., Chowdhury H. R., Sack R. B. Methodological issues in diarrhoeal diseases epidemiology: definition of diarrhoeal episodes. Int J Epidemiol. 1991 Dec;20(4):1057–1063. doi: 10.1093/ije/20.4.1057. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Benard A., Desreumeaux P., Huglo D., Hoorelbeke A., Tonnel A. B., Wallaert B. Increased intestinal permeability in bronchial asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1996 Jun;97(6):1173–1178. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(96)70181-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bock S. A., Atkins F. M. Patterns of food hypersensitivity during sixteen years of double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges. J Pediatr. 1990 Oct;117(4):561–567. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(05)80689-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Boyle J. T., Tuchman D. N., Altschuler S. M., Nixon T. E., Pack A. I., Cohen S. Mechanisms for the association of gastroesophageal reflux and bronchospasm. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1985 May;131(5):S16–S20. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1985.131.S5.S16. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Burks A. W., Mallory S. B., Williams L. W., Shirrell M. A. Atopic dermatitis: clinical relevance of food hypersensitivity reactions. J Pediatr. 1988 Sep;113(3):447–451. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(88)80626-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Caffarelli C., Cavagni G., Deriu F. M., Zanotti P., Atherton D. J. Gastrointestinal symptoms in atopic eczema. Arch Dis Child. 1998 Mar;78(3):230–234. doi: 10.1136/adc.78.3.230. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. DiMarino A. J., Jr, Cohen S. Effect of an oral beta2-adrenergic agonist on lower esophageal sphincter pressure in normals and in patients with achalasia. Dig Dis Sci. 1982 Dec;27(12):1063–1066. doi: 10.1007/BF01391441. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gustafsson P. M., Kjellman N. I., Tibbling L. Bronchial asthma and acid reflux into the distal and proximal oesophagus. Arch Dis Child. 1990 Nov;65(11):1255–1258. doi: 10.1136/adc.65.11.1255. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hill D. J., Firer M. A., Shelton M. J., Hosking C. S. Manifestations of milk allergy in infancy: clinical and immunologic findings. J Pediatr. 1986 Aug;109(2):270–276. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(86)80384-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Jakobsson I., Lindberg T. A prospective study of cow's milk protein intolerance in Swedish infants. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1979 Nov;68(6):853–859. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1979.tb08223.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. James J. M., Eigenmann P. A., Eggleston P. A., Sampson H. A. Airway reactivity changes in asthmatic patients undergoing blinded food challenges. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1996 Feb;153(2):597–603. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.153.2.8564104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Novembre E., de Martino M., Vierucci A. Foods and respiratory allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1988 May;81(5 Pt 2):1059–1065. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(88)90181-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Onorato J., Merland N., Terral C., Michel F. B., Bousquet J. Placebo-controlled double-blind food challenge in asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1986 Dec;78(6):1139–1146. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(86)90263-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Patel L., Clayton P. E., Jenney M. E., Ferguson J. E., David T. J. Adult height in patients with childhood onset atopic dermatitis. Arch Dis Child. 1997 Jun;76(6):505–508. doi: 10.1136/adc.76.6.505. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Pike M. G., Chang C. L., Atherton D. J., Carpenter R. G., Preece M. A. Growth in atopic eczema: a controlled study by questionnaire. Arch Dis Child. 1989 Nov;64(11):1566–1569. doi: 10.1136/adc.64.11.1566. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sampson H. A., Albergo R. Comparison of results of skin tests, RAST, and double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges in children with atopic dermatitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1984 Jul;74(1):26–33. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(84)90083-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sampson H. A., McCaskill C. C. Food hypersensitivity and atopic dermatitis: evaluation of 113 patients. J Pediatr. 1985 Nov;107(5):669–675. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(85)80390-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Shapiro G. G., Christie D. L. Gastroesophageal reflux in steroid-dependent asthmatic youths. Pediatrics. 1979 Feb;63(2):207–212. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sontag S. J., O'Connell S., Khandelwal S., Miller T., Nemchausky B., Schnell T. G., Serlovsky R. Most asthmatics have gastroesophageal reflux with or without bronchodilator therapy. Gastroenterology. 1990 Sep;99(3):613–620. doi: 10.1016/0016-5085(90)90945-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Stalcup S. A., Mellins R. B. Mechanical forces producing pulmonary edema in acute asthma. N Engl J Med. 1977 Sep 15;297(11):592–596. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197709152971107. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Stein M. R., Towner T. G., Weber R. W., Mansfield L. E., Jacobson K. W., McDonnell J. T., Nelson H. S. The effect of theophylline on the lower esophageal sphincter pressure. Ann Allergy. 1980 Oct;45(4):238–241. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wallaert B., Desreumaux P., Copin M. C., Tillie I., Benard A., Colombel J. F., Gosselin B., Tonnel A. B., Janin A. Immunoreactivity for interleukin 3 and 5 and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor of intestinal mucosa in bronchial asthma. J Exp Med. 1995 Dec 1;182(6):1897–1904. doi: 10.1084/jem.182.6.1897. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES