Yj. Kelly et al., MATERNAL ASTHMA, PREMATURE BIRTH, AND THE RISK OF RESPIRATORY MORBIDITY IN SCHOOLCHILDREN IN MERSEYSIDE, Thorax, 50(5), 1995, pp. 525-530
Background - A study was carried out to analyse the impact of maternal
asthma on the risk of preterm delivery and the contribution of preter
m delivery to the development of childhood asthma. Methods - Two cross
sectional community studies of 1872 children (5-11 years) in 1991 and
3746 children in 1993 were performed. A respiratory health questionna
ire was distributed throughout 15 schools in Merseyside and completed
by the parents of the children. Results - Asthmatic mothers were more
likely to have a preterm delivery than nonasthmatic mothers (odds rati
o (OR) 1.49; 95% CI 1.10 to 2.02). Smoking was a separate risk factor
for preterm delivery (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.65). Asthmatic mothers
did not have an increased risk of delivering small, growth retarded b
abies. Maternal asthma, paternal asthma, and premature birth, in that
order, increased the risk of later childhood respiratory morbidity (OR
3.13, 95% CI 2.36 to 4.16; 2.23, 95% CI 1.62 to 3.05; 1.40, 95% CI 1.
10; to 1.79). Conversely, babies who were small for gestational age ap
peared less likely to develop doctor diagnosed asthma or the symptom t
riad of cough, wheeze, and breathlessness in childhood, although this
was not statistically significant (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.41). Conc
lusions - Maternal smoking during pregnancy and maternal asthma are in
dependent risk factors associated with preterm delivery. Asthma in mot
hers predisposes to preterm delivery but not fetal growth retardation.
Preterm birth, but not growth retardation, predisposes the child to t
he development of subsequent asthma.