Related Experiment Videos
Familial factors related to lung function in children aged 6-10 years. Results from the PAARC epidemiologic study
F Kauffmann1, I B Tager, A Muñoz
1INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Research Unit on Statistical and Epidemiologic Methods and Applications to the Study of Chronic Diseases, Villejuif, France.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Human Genetics
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Investigating familial influences on childhood lung function is crucial for understanding respiratory health.
- Previous studies have explored genetic and environmental factors, but familial resemblance requires further elucidation.
- The PAARC Cooperative Study provides a unique dataset for examining lung function inheritance and environmental impacts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess familial resemblance in lung function (FVC, FEV1, FEF25-75) among children aged 6-10.
- To determine the influence of parental smoking and other environmental factors on children's lung function.
- To explore age- and sex-related trends in familial lung function correlations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of lung function data (FVC, FEV1, FEF25-75) from 1,160 children and their parents in the PAARC study.
- Statistical adjustments for sex, town, age, height, and weight.
- Examination of familial resemblance using parental and sibling correlations, considering environmental factors.
Main Results:
- Maternal smoking was linked to reduced FEV1 and FEF25-75 in children.
- Significant familial resemblance was found for all lung function indices between children, parents, and siblings.
- Familial resemblance persisted after accounting for environmental factors and sibling aggregation.
- Parent-child correlations increased with child's age, and opposite-sex sibling correlations were lower than same-sex correlations.
Conclusions:
- Lung function shows significant familial resemblance, suggesting a strong heritable component.
- Parental smoking negatively impacts children's lung function, highlighting environmental influences.
- Observed sex differences in familial resemblance suggest that differential growth patterns between sexes may play a role in lung function inheritance.
Abstract:
Familial factors related to lung function between six and 10 years of age have been studied among 1,160 children whose both parents were examined in 1975 in the French PAARC (Pollution Atmosphérique et Affections Respiratoires Chroniques) Cooperative Study. The three indices FVC (forced vital capacity), FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one second), and FEF25-75 (forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75 per cent of the vital capacity) were studied after adjustment for sex, town, age, and height (and weight for children's FVC and FEV1). Maternal (but not paternal) smoking was associated with a significant decrease in FEV1 and FEF25-75, but not in FVC. Familial resemblance was observed for all indices between children and parents and between siblings. None of the environmental factors considered (i.e., parental smoking or education) or body habitus explained the familial resemblance observed. Conversely, after taking into account the aggregation between siblings, associations between children's lung function and parental characteristics (smoking, lung function) remained significant. Parental-children correlations exhibited an increasing temporal trend with increasing age of the children. All but one correlation for FVC, FEV1, and FEF25-75 residuals of children with mothers' residuals were higher in the oldest age group compared with the youngest age group at the 0.10 level. Furthermore, correlations between siblings of opposite sex were significantly lower than correlations between siblings of like sex, especially for FEV1/FVC and FEF25-75/FVC. Results suggest that different growth patterns between boys and girls may be a critical factor in the study of lung function familial resemblance.