Risk of asthma in young adults who were born preterm: a Swedish national cohort study

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Published on: August 7, 2017

Casey Crump1, Marilyn A Winkleby, Jan Sundquist

  • 1Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA. kccrump@stanford.edu

Pediatrics
|March 23, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Extreme preterm birth increases the risk of asthma medication prescriptions in young adulthood. This risk is not associated with later preterm birth, highlighting a critical developmental window for respiratory health.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal Medicine
  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Preterm birth is linked to childhood asthma, but long-term risks into adulthood are unclear.
  • An increasing number of individuals born preterm are now entering adulthood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between preterm birth and asthma medication prescriptions in young adulthood.
  • To determine if extremely preterm infants have a higher risk of asthma later in life.

Main Methods:

  • A national cohort study of 622,616 singleton infants born in Sweden (1973-1979).
  • Follow-up to ages 25.5-35.0 years, with asthma medication data collected from 2005-2007.
  • Asthma defined by specific inhaler prescriptions (β-2 agonist and glucocorticoid, or combination inhalants).

Main Results:

  • Young adults born extremely preterm (23-27 weeks' gestation) were 2.4 times more likely to receive asthma medications.
  • No significant association was found between later preterm birth (28-36 weeks' gestation) and asthma medication use.

Conclusions:

  • Extreme preterm birth is associated with an increased risk of asthma extending into young adulthood.
  • This is the first large-scale study demonstrating this long-term risk beyond adolescence.
Abstract

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