Table 1.
29 relevant articles from the original search and 24 cross-references, all reporting on fetal growth/birth characteristics and asthma/respiratory disease/wheezing/atopy/allergic disease in the offspring
| Author, ref nr | Study design | Total (% participation) | Age | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Agosti 2003] | Prospective cohort study | 83 (82%) and 98 healthy controls | 6 years | Lower incidence of allergic symptoms in VLBW children compared to those born full term (31% vs. 52%) |
| [Anand 2003] | Geographically selected cohort | 128 VLBW (32%) and 128 control group | 15 years | VLBW had chronic cough, wheezing and asthma and to a higher extent than control group No difference in birth weight ratio and lung function between the groups |
| [Bardin 2004] | Longitudinal follow up study | 37 dyads (SGA + AGA) (80%) | 5 years | Prematurely born infants < 28 weeks, study comparing AGA and SGA health status. No major difference in asthma risk first 2 years (24% vs. 30%) |
| [Benn 2001] | Prospective birth cohort | 118 (85%) | 5 years | No correlation between large head circumference at birth, thymus size or future development of allergic disease |
| [Bernsen 2005] | Retrospective | 1727 (88%) | 6 years | Low birth weight children had a lower risk of atopy, although not significant P = 0.07 |
| [Bolte 2004] | Cross-sectional | 741 (65%) | 5–7 years | Non-significant positive association between birth weight, birth length, gestational age and atopic sensitization in children over 4000 g (OR 1.8; 95% CI 0.8–4.1) |
| [Brooks 2001] | Cross-sectional | 8071 (87%) | 3 years | Children with birth weight < 2500 g had a higher risk of asthma 10.9% (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1–1.8) than children with a higher birth weight |
| [Carrington 2006] | Retrospective population-based cohort | 256 (47%) | 7 years | Reduced odds for wheeze at 7 years in children with head circumference over 36.5 cm at 10-15 days compared to those with head circumference under 35.5 cm (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.03–0.44, P(trend) = 0.009 |
| [Caudri 2007] | Prospective birth cohort study | 3628 (88%) | 7 years | A low birth weight was associated with symptoms of respiratory illnesses, OR for every 1000-g decrease in birth weight 1.21 (95% CI 1.09–1.34). The effect of birth weight increased from age 1 to age 5, but then decreased and was no longer significant at age 7. |
| [Crump 2011] | National cohort | 630 090 (97%) | 25.5–37 years | Low gestational age associated with a decreased risk of prescribed medications for allergic rhinitis Subjects born w 23–28, adjusted OR 0.70 (95% CI 0.51–0.96) for nasal corticosteroid prescription and 0.45 (95% CI 0.27–0.76) for both nasal corticosteroid and oral antihistamine prescription relative to those born at full term |
| [Crump 2011] | National cohort study | 622 616 (98%) | 25.5–35 years | Extremely pre-term children (w 23–27) had more than twice the risk to develop asthma as adults when compared to full-term children; OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.41–4.06) |
| [Davidson 2010] | Retrospective cohort and follow-up | 248 612 birth cohort (98%) and follow-up 4017 | 10–29 years | Children with a low birth weight (1000–2999 g) had a higher risk of admission to hospital for asthma than children with a birth weight 3000–3999 g, OR 1.2 (95% CI 1.1–1.3) |
| [Dezateux 2004] | Prospective epidemiological study | 234 (22%) | 6 weeks | Diminished airway function in children with low birth weight for gestation; a mean reduction of 11 ml in FEV 0.4 (95% CI 4–18; P = 0.002), 12 ml in FVC (95% CI 4–19; P = 0.004), 28 ml/s in MEF25 (95% CI 7–48; P = 0.03) |
| [Dik 2004] | Retrospective birth cohort | 170 960 (92%) | 6 years | Increased risk of asthma in children with low birth weight OR 1.08 (95% CI 1.04–1.13) or born pre-term OR 1.28 (95% CI 1.18–1.37), compared to children born full-term and with normal birth weight |
| [Dombkowski 2008] | Retrospective birth cohort | 150 204 (75%) | 5–18 years | Pre-term children (< 32 weeks) had a higher risk of asthma 11.7%, regardless of race, compared to full-term (8%) OR 1.51 (95% CI 1.40–1.63) |
| [Edwards 2003] | Retrospective birth cohort | 323 (85%) | 45–50 years | Low birth weight predispose for impaired lung function as adults |
| [Gessner 2007] | Population-based cohort | 37349 (68%) | < 5 years and 5–9 years | Pre-term birth but not small for gestational age have an increased risk of asthma |
| [Gold 1999] | Prospective birth cohort | 499 | 1 year | Significant increased risk of wheezing in children with low birth weight compared to normal weight babies |
| [Greenough 2004] | Prospective birth cohort | 119 (-) | 2 years | Pre-term children born small for gestational age (SGA) have different lung function compared to children born with normal weight for gestational age (AGA) |
| [Hancox 2009] | Population-based cohort | 1037 (91%) | 32 years | Low birth weight and low weight gain in childhood is associated with modest reduction in lung function in adults |
| [Hesselmar 2002] | Retrospective case-control study | 280 IUGR + 680 controls (63%) | 15–25 years | IUGR children develop allergic diseases to the same extent as normal size children |
| Jakkola 23] | Review and meta-analysis | 19 studies | Pre-term delivery results in an increased risk of asthma | |
| Jakkola 14] | Population-based cohort | 58841 (98%) | 7 years | Low birth weight and pre-term delivery results in increased risk of asthma at age 7. Being small for gestational age is not associated with an increased risk of asthma. |
| [Jeong 2010] | Hospital based birth cohort | 422 (29%) | 3 years | Children in tertile with lowest birth weight (OR 3.97; 95% CI 0.94–16.68) and children with highest BMI at check-up (OR 3.68; 95% CI 1.24–10.95) had an increased risk of chronic respiratory illnesses |
| [Katz 2003] | Retrospective birth cohort Sheffield child development study | 10 809 (35%) | 11–16 years | A positive correlation between hay fever and: (1) Head circumference (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0–1.5) (2) Birth weight (OR 1.2, 95% CI, 1.0–1.4) and (3) Gestational age; children born before 37 weeks had higher risk of hay fever and those with GA > 41 weeks had lower risks, although not significant |
| [Kawano 2005] | Retrospective case-control study | 279 (-) | 1 year | Children to allergic mothers tended to have higher gestational age and higher birth weight compared to controls. Allergic children were born with a higher birth weight but shorter gestational age than non-allergic controls (P < 0.001) |
| [Kindlund 2010] | Retrospective twin cohort study with co-twin control analyses | 4954 twin pairs (60%) | 3–9 years | In twin pairs the twin with lowest birth weight had an increased risk of asthma OR 1.31 (95% CI 1.03–1.65), P = 0.027, independent of gestational age |
| [Laerum 2004] | Retrospective birth cohort study | 1683 (53%) | 20–44 years | Birth weight showed no relation to adult lung function or symptoms of asthma in adulthood when adjusted for several confounding factors |
| [Lucas 2004] | Prospective birth cohort | 131 (36%) | 5–14 weeks | Each SD decrease in birth weight was associated with a 4.4% fall in FEV 0.4s (p = 0.047). When adjusted for FVC, FEV 0.4s fell by 3.2% per SD increase in infant weight gain. This indicate that a slow fetal growth and rapid early infancy weight gain is associated with impaired lung development |
| [Lundholm 2010] | Register-based twin cohort study with co-twin control analyses | 11 020 twins (70%) | 9 years 12 years | Positive correlation between birth weight and atopic eczema, OR 1.62 (95% CI 1.27–2.06) for each 500 g increase |
| [Mallol 2005] | Prospective birth cohort | 188 (75%) | 1 year | No association between birth weight and recurrent wheezing during first year of life however no child included had a birth weight below 2850g. |
| Metsälä 20] | Register-based nested case control study | 21 038 | 2–10 years | Low birth weight associated with an increased risk of asthma (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.20–1.60) |
| [Nepomnyaschy 2006] | Prospective population based sample study | 1803 (37%) | 3 years | Children with low birth weight had a higher risk of asthma (34% vs. 18%) than normal weight children |
| [Nikolajev 2002] | Prospective birth cohort | 67 twins (38%) | 7–15 years | No correlation between IUGR and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to metacholine when tested at age 7–15 years |
| [Paul 2010] | Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial | 197 (69%) | 2–3 years | Children at risk of asthma with intermittent wheezing were treated with asthma medication or placebo for 2 years. An accelerated weight gain rate lead to more frequent exacerbations but did not affect daily asthma symptoms |
| [Pekkanen 2001] | Prospective birth cohort | 5192 (43%) | 31 years | Children born in gestational week > 40 had a higher risk of atopy than children born before 36 weeks of gestation (OR 1.65; 95% CI 1.16–2.34) |
| [Pike 2010] | Prospective birth cohort | 1548 (83%) | 3 years | Risk of atopic wheeze increased by 20% per SD decrease in abdominal growth during week 19–34, P = 0.046). |
| [Prabhu 2010] | Longitudinal birth cohort study | 1924 | 5 years | Maternal smoking during pregnancy results in smaller fetal size at birth. Children of mothers that continue to smoke suffers from more episodes of wheezing at the age of 2 years (OR 1.58, P = 0.017) |
| [Raby 2004] | Prospective birth cohort study | 454 (91%) | 6 years | A positive correlation between low-normal gestational age and asthma at the age of 6 years, OR 4.7 (95% CI 2.1–10.5) |
| [Rautava 2010] | National cohort study | 918 WLBW (73%) and 381 controls | 5 years | Very low birth weight children (< 32 weeks or birth weight < 1500 g) had more asthma than controls at check-up |
| [Rusconi 2007] | Population-based birth cohort | 15 609 (69%) | 6–7 years | No association between low birth weight < 2500g and wheezing when compared to children with a birth weight of at least 2500 g, OR 1.05 (95% CI 0.81–1.38), 0.96 (95% CI 0.67–1.39), and 0.71 (95% CI 0.49–1.05) for transient early wheezing, persistent wheezing, and late-onset wheezing, respectively |
| [Sin 2004] | Prospective population-based cohort study | 83 595 (87%) | 10 years | Children with a high birth weight (above 4500 g) had a higher risk of emergency visits due to asthma than normal weight children, RR 1.16 (95% CI 1.04–1.29) |
| [Siltanen 2011] | Retrospective Birth cohort | 166 (65%) VLBW and 172 (55%) controls | 18–27 years | Reduced risk of atopy (positive skin prick test) in children born premature compared to children born full-term OR 0.61(95% CI 0.39–0.93; P = 0.023) |
| [Steffensen 2000] | Population-based study of male conscripts | 4795 (99%) | 18 years | Higher prevalence of atopic dermatitis in conscripts with low birth weight < 2501 g, OR 3.0 (95% CI 0.8–11.9). Highest incidence of asthma in conscripts with low birth weight < 2500 g |
| [Tadaki 2009] | Prospective birth cohort study | 213 (79%) | 1 year | Low birth weight risk factor of wheezing during first year of life OR 1.002 (95% CI 1.000–1.003) |
| [Taveras 2006] | Prospective birth cohort study | 1372 (66%) | 2 years | No increased risk of asthma in infants with a birth weight above 4000 g |
| [Turner 2011] | Longitudinal birth cohort study | 1924 | 10 years | Persistent low growth associated with increased risk of asthma OR 2.8 (95% CI 1.2–6.9) and a mean reduction in FEV1 of 103 ml (95% CI 13–194). Increasing fetal size associated with increased risk of eczema, OR 2.5 (95% CI 1.2–5.3). |
| [Turner 2010] | Longitudinal birth cohort study | 1924 | 5 years | Smaller fetal size during the first trimester correlated with reduced childhood lung function and increased asthma symptoms, independent of anthropometric measurements at birth and in childhood |
| [Walter 2009] | Population-based case–control Study | 4674 (86%) and 18 445 controls, (85%) | 18–27 years | Children with low and moderately low birth weight had a higher risk for hospital admittance due to respiratory problems OR 1.83 (95% CI 1.28–2.62) and OR 1.34 for moderately low birth weight, (95% CI 1.17–1.53) |
| [Villamor 2009] | Prospective twin cohort study with co-twin control analyses | 21 588 twins (66%) | 40–72 years | Low birth weight < 2500 g at higher risk of asthma independent of perinatal characteristics. In co-twin control analyses, birth weight of < 2500 g was significantly related to increased risk of asthma among monozygotic twins RR for 2000 g vs. 2500 g OR 1.58 (95% CI 1.06–2.38) |
| [Yuan 2002] | Retrospective birth cohort study | 10 440 | 12 years | A positive correlation was found between high birth weight and asthma IRR = 1.62, (95% CI 1.02–2.59) per 1000 g increase |
| [Yuan 2003] | Retrospective birth cohort | 9705 (92%) | 1 year | An increased risk of anti-asthmatic drugs in children with a high birth weight > 3800 g. (OR 1.23; 95% CI 0.88–1.73) |
| Örtqvist [35] | Register-based twin cohort study with co-twin control analyses | 10 918 twins (69%) | 9 and 12 year old twins | Association between low birth weight and increased risk of asthma OR 1.57 (95% CI 1.38–1.79) for each 1000 g decrease in birth weight, with stable estimates in the co-twin analysis |
AGA, appropriate for gestational age; CI, confidence interval; FEV, forced expiratory volume; FVC, forced expiratory vital capacity; IRR, incidence rate ratio; IUGR, intrauterine growth restriction; MEF25, maximal expired flow at 25% of forced vital capacity; OR, odds ratio; RR, relative risk; SGA, small for gestational age; SD, standard deviation; VLBW, very low birth weight