Late preterm birth and risk of developing asthma

J Pediatr. 2010 Jul;157(1):74-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2010.01.008. Epub 2010 Mar 24.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the association between gestational age at birth (late preterm vs term) and risk for physician-diagnosed asthma.

Study design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) linked natality files. The study included children age 2-83 months from singleton births, born late preterm (n=537) or term (n=5650). Using survival analysis, we modeled time to diagnosis of asthma; children with no asthma diagnosis were censored at the age of their survey interview. We used Cox proportional hazard regression to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for gestational age and asthma risk, adjusting for maternal age, maternal education, parental history of asthma/hay fever, maternal smoking history during pregnancy, race/ethnicity, and sex of the child.

Results: Adjusted analysis showed that physician-diagnosed asthma was modestly associated with late preterm birth (hazard ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.8-2.0), but this association was not statistically significant (P=.30).

Conclusions: Our study found that late preterm birth was not associated with a diagnosis of asthma in early childhood.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Asthma / diagnosis
  • Asthma / epidemiology*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Female
  • Gestational Age
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Maternal Age
  • Odds Ratio
  • Pregnancy
  • Premature Birth*
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors