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Published on: August 7, 2017
Influence of childhood growth on asthma and lung function in adolescence
Agnes M M Sonnenschein-van der Voort1, Laura D Howe2, Raquel Granell3
1School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; Department of Pediatrics, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Faster weight gain in early childhood is linked to a higher risk of asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Rapid growth throughout childhood is also associated with improved lung function later in life.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric pulmonology
- Growth and development
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood asthma risk is linked to early life growth patterns.
- The impact of post-infancy growth on asthma remains less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between children's growth trajectories and asthma development.
- To examine the relationship between growth patterns and bronchial responsiveness and lung function up to adolescence.
Main Methods:
- Utilized linear spline multilevel models to analyze growth trajectories from birth to 10 years in 9723 children.
- Assessed asthma via questionnaires at ages 8, 14, and 17.
- Measured lung function and bronchial responsiveness at ages 8 and 15.
Main Results:
- Rapid weight growth (0-3 months) correlated with increased asthma risk (ages 8, 17) and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (age 8).
- Weight gain (3-7 years) associated with higher forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) at age 15.
- Early rapid weight growth (0-3 months) linked to lower FEV1/FVC ratios at ages 8 and 15.
Conclusions:
- Accelerated weight gain in early childhood is associated with asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
- Faster weight growth throughout childhood correlates with enhanced lung function (FVC, FEV1) in adolescence.
Background:
Low birth weight and rapid infant growth in early infancy are associated with increased risk of childhood asthma, but little is known about the role of postinfancy growth in asthmatic children.
Objectives:
We sought to examine the associations of children's growth patterns with asthma, bronchial responsiveness, and lung function until adolescence.
Methods:
Individual growth trajectories from birth until 10 years of age were estimated by using linear spline multilevel models for 9723 children participating in a population-based prospective cohort study. Current asthma at 8, 14, and 17 years of age was based on questionnaires. Lung function and bronchial responsiveness or reversibility were measured during clinic visits at 8 and 15 years of age.
Results:
Rapid weight growth between 0 and 3 months of age was most consistently associated with increased risks of current asthma at the ages of 8 and 17 years, bronchial responsiveness at age 8 years, and bronchial reversibility at age 15 years. Rapid weight growth was associated with lung function values, with the strongest associations for weight gain between 3 and 7 years of age and higher forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1 values at age 15 years (0.12 [95% CI, 0.08 to 0.17] and 0.11 [95% CI, 0.07 to 0.15], z score per SD, respectively) and weight growth between 0 and 3 months of age and lower FEV1/FVC ratios at age 8 and 15 years (-0.13 [95% CI, -0.16 to -0.10] and -0.04 [95% CI, -0.07 to -0.01], z score per SD, respectively). Rapid length growth was associated with lower FVC and FVC1 values at age 15 years.
Conclusion:
Faster weight growth in early childhood is associated with asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and faster weight growth across childhood is associated with higher FVC and FEV1 values.
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