Pividori M, et al. - Using data from the UK Biobank, researchers performed genome-wide and transcriptome-wide studies to determine shared and distinct genetic risk loci for childhood-onset and adult-onset asthma, defined as onset before 12 years of age and onset between 26 and 65 years of age, respectively. They also focused on the identification of genes that might mediate the impacts of related variation. They found 19 loci related to the age of asthma onset. In the childhood-onset genome-wide association studies, the most significant asthma-related locus was at 17q12. A greater role for non-genetic risk factors in adult-onset asthma was indicated by the finding that a subset of the genetic risk for childhood-onset asthma largely constituted the genetic risk factors for adult-onset asthma but with overall smaller impacts. Dysregulated allergy and epithelial barrier function genes account more for children-onset asthma, whereas the cause of adult-onset asthma is more lung-centred and environmentally determined, as suggested on taking together gene expression and tissue enrichment patterns. In both children and adults, disease progression is driven by immune-mediated mechanisms.