ECHO Study Finds Children Are Less Likely to Get the Common Cold as They Get Older

Author(s): Timothy Choi, James E. Gern and Yury A. Bochkov

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health. Additional support came from contributing studies by the NIH, the Sigrid Juselius Foundation (Helsinki, Finland) and the National Health Medical Research Council (Australia).

What were the study results?

As children age, they are less likely to be infected with the rhinovirus C species. This may be because the immune system gets stronger against infection with rhinovirus C species compared to other species. Other personal factors related to more frequent infections are wheezing respiratory illnesses and a genetic difference in a protein used by the viruses to enter cells.

Footnote: Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health care without first consulting your healthcare professional.

What was the study's impact?

Infections with rhinoviruses, generally known as common colds, are the most common cause of wheezing illnesses in preschoolers and children with asthma. Unfortunately, there are no treatments for these respiratory viruses. The results of the study identify children most likely to develop more severe illnesses with rhinovirus C based on young age and genetics. This new information on at-risk populations and the viruses most likely to cause illnesses can help scientists create a vaccine specifically for the rhinovirus C species.

Why was this study needed?

Rhinovirus is a leading cause of the common cold and wheezing illnesses in young children and in children with asthma. There are three species of rhinoviruses (A, B, and C), and C viruses are often more likely to cause wheezing illnesses, especially in young children. The main objectives of this study were to identify age and other personal risk factors for rhinovirus illnesses, and to determine whether certain rhinoviruses are more frequent and more likely to cause wheezing illnesses.

Who was involved?

More than 4,000 children were enrolled in 14 independent studies across the United States, Finland, and Australia from 2000 to 2019. Study participants had illnesses of varying severity and varied in age from zero to 19 years.

What happened during the study?

Each of the 14 sites collected nasal samples and studied them for rhinovirus species and type. The investigators then tested whether characteristics such as age, gender, and race influenced which viruses were seen. Investigators also identified which viruses are most common and which are most likely to cause illnesses.

What happens next?

Future research will focus on studying the strength and length of time people can be immune to rhinovirus C. This will help determine why these viruses are able to produce such a strong immune response, and why rhinovirus C infections decrease with age. This information may help researchers design a practical vaccine against rhinovirus C that could be used to protect high-risk children.

Where can I learn more?

View the full journal article, titled "Enhanced Neutralizing Antibody Responses to Rhinovirus C and Age-Dependent Patterns of Infection," in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Additional details

The authors thank the many investigators, children and families who conducted and participated in this multinational collaborative study.

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published: April 1, 2021

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ECHO Study Finds Children Are Less Likely to Get the Common Cold as They Get Older

ECHO Discovery

Co-author James Gern presented An Integrated Approach to Identifying Early Life Causes of Childhood Asthma at a past ECHO Discovery webinar. You can view his presentation here.

Better Sleep Quality Is Linked to Lower Levels of Stress and Better General Health in Children

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Better Sleep Quality Is Linked to Lower Levels of Stress and Better General Health in Children

Author: Courtney K. Blackwell

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health.

What were the study results?

Results suggested better sleep quality was connected with lower levels of stress and better general health. This, in turn, predicted higher levels of life satisfaction. Findings remained stable for a subsample of children with the poorest sleep quality.

*Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health without first consulting your healthcare professional.

What was the study's impact?

Children who sleep well have happier lives than those who do not sleep as well. Given the varying nature of children’s sleep quality, this study offers findings to inform future studies that want to test specific ways to improve children’s well-being. Ways to improve sleep may include education programs for parents that teach parents how to prevent things that keep children from sleeping well (e.g., ways to lower screen time in the hour before bed). Other ideas may include looking at how elementary school start times affect children’s sleep quality.

Why was this study needed?

Sleep quality is important to children’s health and well-being. Until now, research has focused on how poor sleep may cause health problems. The current study explored if and how better sleep quality may lead to positive health in children.

Who was involved?

More than 1000 caregivers of 5- to 9-year-old children from 3 ECHO Program cohorts participated in this study. Participants were from different places in the United States, had different financial backgrounds and 10% were of Hispanic origin.

What happened during the study?

Between March and December 2017, caregivers completed surveys about their children’s sleep quality, general health, stress, and life satisfaction.

What happens next?

This study provides early evidence on the ways better sleep can improve the lives of children. Future research with more diverse samples can make these findings apply to more people. Additionally, measures to try with younger children are available so that we can see how this affects children younger than 5.

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article, titled “Better sleep, better life? How sleep quality influences children's life satisfaction.”

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published: September 29, 2020

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Better Sleep Quality Is Linked to Lower Levels of Stress and Better General Health in Children

ECHO Study Suggests Chronically Ill Children Can Still Have High Life Satisfaction

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ECHO Study Suggests Chronically Ill Children Can Still Have High Life Satisfaction

Author(s): Courtney K. Blackwell, Amy J. Elliott, Jody Ganiban, et al.

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health.

What were the study results?

Results suggested that children with at least one chronic illness had worse general health, but similar levels of life satisfaction as other children their age who do not have a chronic illness. Children (those with and without illness) who were less stressed and came from higher income families had higher life satisfaction. Overall, this study shows that chronic illnesses do not necessarily keep children from leading happy, satisfying lives.*

*Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health without first consulting your healthcare professional.

What was the study's impact?

This study is the first ECHO project to collect and combine new data from multiple cohorts to examine the topic of positive health. Findings highlight opportunities for healthcare professionals to broaden views of health from meaning the “absence of disease” to one where all children, regardless of illness, have well-being. This idea aligns with the Institute of Medicine’s definition of child health, and this study provides innovative measures to understand such outcomes. Results from this study may lead to future research on the relationship between certain chronic illnesses and child well-being. It may be particularly interesting for large research programs, such as ECHO, that have access to larger groups of children with different illnesses. Study findings also give researchers a way to address recent national initiatives, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration’s focus on creating programs that address children’s life satisfaction.

Why was this study needed?

The relationship between chronic illness and negative health outcomes is well-known. However, less is known about the relationship between chronic illness and positive health outcomes, such as life satisfaction, especially in children.

Who was involved?

Participants came from three ECHO Program cohorts. Participants were 1,113 caregivers who reported information for 1,253 children 5-9 years old.

Of these children:

About half were male (53%)
The majority were white (79%)
A tenth were Hispanic (10%)
A fifth had at least one chronic illness (20%)

What happened during the study?

Three ECHO cohorts surveyed caregivers on their children’s general health, life satisfaction, and stress between March 2017 and December 2017. Cohorts shared results from these surveys and data related to children’s medical conditions and family demographic information with the ECHO research team.

What happens next?

This study provides a start for more research on the relationship between certain chronic illnesses and children’s well-being as well as how chronic illness relates to the change in well-being over time.

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article, titled “General Health and Life Satisfaction in Children With Chronic Illness.”

For an overview of the research and findings, see the American Academy of Pediatrics press release.

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published: June 2019

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ECHO Study Suggests Chronically Ill Children Can Still Have High Life Satisfaction