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Updated: Aug 30, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Growth pattern during early infancy, body mass index during childhood and childhood asthma
Ju Hee Kim1, Eun Kyo Ha2, Seung Won Lee3
1Department of Pediatrics, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Insights
Rapid infant weight gain and high childhood BMI increase asthma risk. This is especially true for children with both rapid early weight gain and high body mass index (BMI) in childhood, indicating a significant interaction.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Epidemiology
- Growth and Development
Background:
- Longitudinal studies on infant growth and childhood asthma are scarce.
- Understanding growth patterns' impact on asthma development is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how infant weight change, childhood body mass index (BMI), and their interaction influence the risk of developing childhood asthma.
- To provide insights into the developmental trajectories associated with asthma risk.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of over 270,000 children born in Korea (2008-2009) was analyzed.
- Infant weight change was categorized (slow, on-track, rapid); childhood BMI was time-varying (low, normal, high).
- Cox proportional hazard regression adjusted for covariates assessed asthma risk (≥2 diagnoses after age 2).
Main Results:
- Increased asthma risk was linked to low birth weight, rapid infant weight gain, and high childhood BMI.
- A significant interaction between infant weight change and childhood BMI on asthma risk was observed (p < .01).
- Rapid infant weight gain was associated with higher asthma risk in children with high childhood BMI compared to those with on-track or slow gain.
Conclusions:
- Low birth weight, high childhood BMI, and rapid infant weight gain (especially with high childhood BMI) are risk factors for childhood asthma.
- The interplay between early growth and later BMI is a critical determinant of asthma development.
- Findings highlight the importance of monitoring infant growth and childhood BMI for asthma prevention strategies.
Background:
There is a lack of longitudinal studies of associations between growth from infancy to childhood and asthma development.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of weight change during infancy, body mass index (BMI) and the interaction of these factors on the risk of childhood asthma.
Methods:
We enrolled children born in 2008 and 2009 at full-term and with normal birth weight. The weight change in infancy was grouped into slow, on-track and rapid. BMI status in childhood was stratified into low, normal and high groups and used as a time-varying variable. The outcome was asthma, defined as two or more diagnoses of asthma separated by at least 1 year after 2 years of age. The risk of asthma was assessed using Cox proportional hazard regression, with adjustment for sex, residence area at birth, economic status and feeding types in infancy.
Results:
Of 917,707 children born in Korea in 2008 and 2009, 271,871 were eligible for analysis. The risk of asthma was greater in groups with low birth weight (aHR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.08), rapid body weight change during early infancy (aHR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.10) and high BMI during childhood (aHR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04-1.08). The interaction of weight change during early infancy with BMI during childhood was significant for asthma (p < .01). Rapid weight gain in infancy was associated with lower risk of asthma in those with low BMI during childhood; had no association with asthma in those with normal BMI during childhood; and was associated increased asthma risk in those with high BMI during childhood-aHR 1.26 (95% CI 1.19 to 1.33) and aHR 1.33 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.56) compared with on-track and slow infant weight gain, respectively.
Conclusion:
Low birth weight, high BMI during childhood and, in those with high childhood BMI, rapid weight gain during early infancy are associated with increased risk of childhood asthma.
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