Spirometric Lung Function in School-Age Children

Abstract

Rationale: Few studies have investigated childhood respiratory outcomes of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and it is unclear if catch-up growth in these children influences lung function. Objectives: We determined if lung function differed in 8-to 9-yearold children born at term with or without growth retardation, and, in the growth-retarded group, if lung function differed between those who did and those who did not show weight catch up. Methods: Caucasian singleton births of 37 weeks or longer gestation from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n 5 14,062) who had lung spirometry at 8-9 years of age were included (n 5 5,770). Measurements and Main Results: Infants with gestation-appropriate birthweight (n 5 3,462) had significantly better lung function at 8-9 years of age than those with IUGR (i.e., birthweight ,10th centile [n 5 576] [SD differences and confidence intervals adjusted for sex, gestation, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and social class: . Both groups had similar respiratory symptoms. All spirometry measurements were higher in children with IUGR who had weight catch-up growth (n 5 430) than in those without (n 5 146), although the differences were not statistically significant. Both groups remained significantly lower than control subjects. Growth-retarded asymmetric and symmetric children had similar lung function. Conclusions: IUGR is associated with poorer lung function at 8-9 years of age compared with control children. Although the differences were not statistically significant, spirometry was higher in children who showed weight catch-up growth, but remained significantly lower than the control children.

Developmental regulation of inflammatory cytokine-mediated Stat3 signaling: the missing link between intrauterine growth restriction and pulmonary dysfunction?

“…There is increasing evidence that prenatal factors, such as nutritional supply, permanently influence pivotal processes of lung development and maturation of pulmonary structures [9,10]. The pathogenic mechanisms that results in an impairment of lung function observed in IUGR-associated lung disease are poorly understood.…”

“…Furthermore, there is an increasing body of evidence that IUGR induces changes in the developing lung with a persisting impairment of pulmonary structure and function [7][8][9]. In addition, recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated impaired lung function with reduced forced expiratory volume (FEV 1 ) in young infants following IUGR [10].…”

Birth after preeclamptic pregnancies: association with allergic sensitization and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in late childhood; a historically matched cohort study

“…This association might either be due to an increased soluble antiangiogenic factor [15], or a congenital reduction in airways calibre and compliance in particular in infants with intrauterine growth restriction [16]. However, no studies have evaluated a possible long-term association between maternal preeclampsia and asthma or lung function in offspring.…”

Vitamin A Supplementation in Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Infants: Subgroup Analysis in Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants

“…16,17 A recent study reported that school-aged children who specifically met the criteria for IUGR as newborns based on birth weight and Ponderal index also showed poorer lung function as compared with age-matched controls. 18 …”