Early daycare increases risk of wheezing in 0-2 yr old children

Anyone with small children in daycare or preschool can tell you that exposure to respiratory infections is rampant among young classmates. Many children also develop respiratory symptoms such as cough, wheezing, or difficulty breathing – a condition called “reactive airways disease” which may herald the onset of asthma. In children aged 0-2 yrs, there is more wheezing if they are placed in daycare, during a time when respiratory problems can be much more difficult to treat and more troublesome to the child and family.

Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2009;180(6): 491-8. Caudri D, Wijga A, Scholtens S, Kerkhof M, Gerritsen J, Ruskamp JM, Brunekreef B, Smit HA, de Jongste JC. Early daycare is associate with an increase in airway symptoms in early childhood but is no protection against asthma or atopy at 8 years.