Network Dynamics of the Immune System decodes Asthma Endotypes

The ‘Genetic Epidemiology of Asthma in Costa Rica’ is a family-based cross-sectional cohort ascertained between February 2001 and August 2008 on a Hispanic population isolate from the Central Valley of Costa Rica. The study recruited children between 6 to 14 years of age with moderate persistent asthma. GACR subjects were recruited by identifying an asthma proband from the records of the Children's Hospital of San Juan, Costa Rica. A total of 1,165 children with asthma were enrolled in the original study with written parental and participant consent. All children completed a protocol at enrollment, including questionnaires, assessment of airway responsiveness to methacholine, spirometry conducted with Survey Tach Spirometer, and collection of blood when children were not exacerbated.