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Published on: August 7, 2017

Foetal and childhood growth and asthma in adult life

David J P Barker1, Clive Osmond, Tom J Forsén

  • 1Heart Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA. djpbarker@gmail.com

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|April 9, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Reduced birth size and poor childhood living conditions are linked to adult asthma. Impaired in-utero growth, potentially due to placental issues, increases asthma risk, especially for those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Respiratory Medicine

Background:

  • Asthma may originate from in-utero airway epithelial defects and altered postnatal infection responses.
  • This study investigates the association between adult asthma and early-life factors like birth size and childhood living conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine if reduced body size at birth and poor childhood living conditions are associated with asthma in adulthood.
  • To explore the relationship between early-life growth and the risk of developing asthma later in life.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study of 13,345 individuals born in Helsinki (1934-1944) was analyzed.
  • Data included birth size (body and placental), childhood living conditions, and growth records for 658 asthmatic individuals.

Main Results:

  • Increased birth length and placental surface length were associated with reduced odds of adult asthma (OR=0.93 and 0.92, respectively).
  • Childhood growth, after accounting for birth size, was not significantly related to asthma.
  • Individuals from low socio-economic status families had an increased risk of developing asthma.

Conclusions:

  • Slow linear growth in utero, possibly from impaired placentation, elevates the risk of adult asthma, potentially due to impaired airway development.
  • Infants with compromised lung development born into low socio-economic environments may be particularly susceptible to asthma.
Abstract

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