YOUNG MATERNAL AGE - A RISK FACTOR FOR CHILDHOOD ASTHMA

Some studies indicate that children born to younger mothers are at hig her risk for wheezing or asthma. I conducted a case cont;ol study that included 457 new cases of asthma in 3- and di-year old children and a n equal number of controls. I found that, in comparison with children of mothers 30 years of age or older, children of mothers age 26-30 yea rs had an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.16 [95% confidence interval (C I) = 0.73-1.85] of developing asthma; children of mothers be tween 21 and 25 years of age had an OR of 1.25 (95% CI = 0.76-2.07), and those whose mothers were 20 years of age or younger had an OR of 3.48 (95% C I = 1.08-11.22).