title: Is maternal asthma a risk factor for low birth weight? Results of an epidemiologic survey.
abstract: The association between history of asthma in the mother and low birth weight (< 2,500 g) was studied in 2,929 primary schoolchildren, randomly selected from three areas of the Lazio Region, Italy, and enrolled in a cross-sectional survey to assess their health status in relation to environmental factors. A history of asthma in the mother was associated with a higher prevalence of low birth weight, with a crude OR of 2.95 (95% CI 1.10-6.72). After stratification for other variables, an association was still present only for males (OR 4.13; 95% CI 1.01-12.53), when mothers had smoked in pregnancy (OR 8.02; 95% CI 1.63-32.28) and were resident in an industrial town (OR 10.21; 95% CI 2.69-32.27). An OR of 6.43 was also found when mothers belonged to low social class, but the 95% CI included the unity. These results suggest that a history of asthma in the mother is a risk factor for low birth weight, but only when other adverse factors are concurrently present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology, University of Sassari Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corchia
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bertollini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Forastiere
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pistelli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perucci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects