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Maternal asthma and maternal smoking are associated with increased risk of bronchiolitis during infancy

Kecia N Carroll1, Tebeb Gebretsadik, Marie R Griffin

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. tina.hartert@vanderbilt.edu

Pediatrics
|June 5, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Maternal asthma and smoking during pregnancy increase infant bronchiolitis risk. Infants born to mothers with both conditions face the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalization.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric respiratory health
  • Epidemiology of infant infections
  • Environmental and genetic factors in infant disease

Background:

  • Bronchiolitis is a leading cause of infant hospitalization.
  • Identifying risk factors for severe bronchiolitis is crucial for prevention.
  • Maternal health conditions and behaviors during pregnancy may impact infant respiratory outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal asthma and maternal smoking during pregnancy and the incidence and severity of clinically significant bronchiolitis in term infants.
  • To exclude confounding factors such as small lung size or underlying cardiac/pulmonary disease.

Main Methods:

  • Population-based retrospective cohort study of term, non-low birth weight infants in Tennessee (1995-2003).
  • Follow-up through the first year of life to assess bronchiolitis incidence and severity.
  • Severity determined by healthcare visits and prolonged hospitalization (>3 days).

Main Results:

  • A total of 101,245 infants were included; 20% experienced at least one healthcare visit for bronchiolitis.
  • Maternal smoking and/or asthma independently increased the risk of bronchiolitis.
  • Infants with maternal asthma (alone or with smoking) had the highest risk for emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal asthma and smoking are independent risk factors for infant bronchiolitis in otherwise healthy term infants.
  • Infants of mothers with both asthma and smoking have a significantly elevated risk of bronchiolitis.
  • Reducing exposure to these maternal risk factors could decrease infant morbidity from bronchiolitis.
Abstract

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