Adult respiratory disease deaths traced to childhood

SUFFERING from respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia in early childhood doubles the likelihood of dying from a lung condition in adulthood, according to researchers.

Scientists at Imperial College London looked at the health data of Britons going back to 1946 and found that such early illnesses probably account for one in five deaths from respiratory disease in adulthood.

Infections in infancy damage the lungs before they are fully developed, which leads to lifelong problems, they suggest. Usually the risk of dying early from a respiratory disease is around one in 100 but scientists found one in 50 of those who suffered an infection before the age of two died from one.

Researchers estimated that 179,188 premature adult deaths in England and Wales between 1972 and 2019 may have been triggered by a childhood infection – the equivalent of one in five deaths from respiratory disease.

However, they added that improvements since the 1940s may mean the children today have better outcomes.

The findings challenge thinking that suggests adult respiratory diseases are driven largely by smoking, pollution or working conditions.

Dr James Allinson, lead author of the

‘Study’s findings show preventative measures should be taken well before adulthood’

study by the National Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College, said: “Preventative measures for adult respiratory disease mainly focus on adult lifestyle risk factors such as smoking.

“Linking one in five adult respiratory deaths to common infections in childhood shows the need to target risk well before adulthood.”

The study, published in The Lancet, used data from The National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD), which recruited individuals at birth in 1946 and looked at the health and death records of 3,589 people until 2019. Of the study participants, 913 had a lower respiratory tract infection before the age of two.

Analysis, adjusting for socioeconomic background during childhood and smoking status, suggested that children who had suffered a lower respiratory tract infection before reaching the age of two were 93 per cent more likely to die prematurely from respiratory disease as adults than healthy youngsters.