Citation

Scott KM, Von Korff M, Alonso J, Angermeyer MC, Benjet C, Bruffaerts R, de Girolamo G, Haro JM, Kessler RC, Kovess V, Ono Y, Ormel J, Posada-Villa J. Psychosom. Med. 2008; 70(9): 1035-1043.

Affiliation

Department of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Otago University, Wellington, Wellington South, New Zealand. kate.scott@otago.ac.nz

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Psychosomatic Society, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PSY.0b013e318187a2fb

PMID

18941133

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate a) whether childhood adversity predicts adult-onset asthma; b) whether early-onset depressive/anxiety disorders predict adult-onset asthma; and c) whether childhood adversity and early-onset depressive/anxiety disorders predict adult-onset asthma independently of each other. Previous research has suggested, but not established, that childhood adversity may predict adult-onset asthma and, moreover, that the association between mental disorders and asthma may be a function of shared risk factors, such as childhood adversity. METHODS: Ten cross-sectional population surveys of household-residing adults (>18 years, n = 18,303) assessed mental disorders with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0) as part of the World Mental Health surveys. Assessment of a range of childhood family adversities was included. Asthma was ascertained by self-report of lifetime diagnosis and age of diagnosis. Survival analyses calculated hazard ratios (HRs) for risk of adult-onset (>age 20 years) asthma as a function of number and type of childhood adversities and early-onset (

Language: en