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Antenatal steroid therapy and childhood asthma: Is there a possible link?

Jason D Pole1, Cameron A Mustard, Teresa To

  • 1Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. j.pole@utoronto.ca

Medical Hypotheses
|October 27, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Fetal exposure to corticosteroids may be a risk factor for childhood asthma. This study reviews literature linking antenatal corticosteroid use during pregnancy to increased asthma risk in children.

Area of Science:

  • Perinatology
  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Childhood asthma prevalence significantly increased from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
  • Increased use of antenatal corticosteroids for fetal lung maturation coincided with rising asthma rates.
  • Gestational exposures are being investigated as potential contributors to asthma development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To hypothesize that fetal exposure to corticosteroids is an independent risk factor for childhood asthma.
  • To examine the association between antenatal corticosteroid use and childhood asthma development.
  • To review trends in asthma prevalence, corticosteroid use, and their latent effects.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of published studies.
  • Analysis of time-dependent associations between birth year and asthma risk.
  • Examination of the relationship between preterm birth and childhood asthma.

Main Results:

  • A time-dependent association was noted between year of birth and the link between preterm birth and childhood asthma.
  • Increased antenatal corticosteroid use overlaps with the period of rising childhood asthma prevalence.
  • Established latent effects of antenatal corticosteroids are acknowledged.

Conclusions:

  • Fetal exposure to corticosteroids is hypothesized as an independent risk factor for childhood asthma.
  • The timing of antenatal corticosteroid exposure may influence asthma risk.
  • Further research is warranted to confirm the causal link between antenatal corticosteroids and childhood asthma.

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