Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics and wheezing episode
| Transient wheezing (n = 14) | Persistent wheezing (n = 54) | Late-onset wheezing (n = 17) | χ 2 | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at recruitment (mean ± SD) | 1.32 ± 0.62 | 2.61 ± 1.44 | 4.57 ± 0.79 | – | – |
| Age at follow-up (mean ± SD) | 4.95 ± 0.70 | 6.28 ± 1.26 | 8.19 ± 0.75 | – | – |
| Gender [n (%)] | 0.62 | 0.734 | |||
| Male | 11 (78.6) | 43 (79.6) | 12 (70.6) | ||
| Female | 3 (21.4) | 11 (20.4) | 5 (29.4) | ||
| Birth history [n (%)]a | 3.60 | 0.134 | |||
| Full-term | 11 (78.6) | 47 (87.0) | 17 (100.0) | ||
| Preterm | 3 (21.4) | 7 (13.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Recruitment season [n (%)]a | 1.24 | 0.891 | |||
| Spring | 9 (64.3) | 26 (48.1) | 8 (47.1) | ||
| Autumn | 3 (21.4) | 16 (29.6) | 5 (29.4) | ||
| Winter | 2 (14.3) | 12 (22.2) | 4 (23.5) | ||
| Siblings [n (%)]a | |||||
| No-siblings | 8 (57.1) | 37 (68.5) | 14 (82.4) | 2.32 | 0.321 |
| Breastfed history [n (%)]a | |||||
| Yes | 14 (100.0) | 50 (92.6) | 15 (88.2) | 1.39 | 0.496 |
| Childcare [n (%)]a | |||||
| Yes | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.9) | 1 (5.9) | 1.54 | 0.605 |
| Pets kept when the child was born [n (%)]a | |||||
| Yes | 2 (14.3) | 8 (14.8) | 2 (11.8) | 0.17 | 1.000 |
| Current pet ownership [n (%)]a | |||||
| Yes | 2 (14.3) | 6 (11.1) | 2 (11.8) | 0.40 | 0.892 |
| Mother smoking history [n (%)]a | |||||
| Yes | 1 (7.1) | 1 (1.9) | 1 (5.9) | 2.14 | 0.300 |
| Other family member smoking history [n (%)]a | |||||
| Yes | 9 (64.3) | 31 (57.4) | 10 (58.8) | 0.25 | 0.949 |
| Onset age of wheezing (months)b | 6.0 (5.8, 12.0) | 12.0 (6.0, 24.0) | 36.0 (36.0, 48.0) | 43.66 | < 0.001 |
| Current wheezing episode at recruitmentb | 4 (3, 4) | 4 (3, 5) | 4 (2, 6) | 0.16 | 0.925 |
| Current wheezing episode at follow-upb | 0 (0, 0)c | 0 (0, 1) | 0 (0, 1) | 0.98 | 0.323 |
Italic values indicate the significance of p value (p < 0.05)
aFisher’s exact test was used for groups’ comparison
bVariables were expressed as median (inter-quartile)
cChildren in Transient wheezing group stopped wheezing symptom at follow-up