[Children with asthma followed up for 21 years. Reduced severity, but patients seldom grow out of asthma by adulthood].

The course of asthma severity, clinical allergies, allergic sensitization, lung function, changes in living conditions and social outcome were studied prospectively in 55 asthmatic children for 21 years, from a mean age of 9 to 30 years. Asthma severity improved, but only 16 percent were in remission at the final follow-up. After adolescence, clinical improvement continued among males but not among females. Lung function showed a similar gender difference with respect to clinical course. Generally, clinical allergies and sensitization to pollens and animal danders persisted in adulthood. In adulthood, asthma severity and degree of bronchial hyperresponsiveness correlated with the extent of sensitization to furred animals.