[The effects of low birth weight, gestational age on lung function in childhood].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of low birth weight, gestational age on lung function in later childhood.


METHODS
Height, body weight and lung function were measured in a cohort of 35 children with low birth weight (aged 6 approximately 9 y) and 35 healthy controls matched for sex and age with normal birth weight. At the same time, we inquired their gestational age and passive smoking history. The correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between lung function in these children and birth weight and gestational age.


RESULTS
FVC, FEV(1), FEV(1)% pred, V(75), V(50), V(50%) Pred, (V(25%) Pred in children with low birth weight were significantly lower than those in children with normal birth weight (P < 0.05). The lung function statistically positively correlated with birth weight (r = 0.245 approximately 0.365, P < 0.05), but not with gestational age (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Low birth weight was positively correlated with most lung function parameters in childhood.
Tan
X
X
Department of Respiratory Disease, The People's Hospital, Beijing University, Beijing 100044, China.
He
Q
Q
Ding
D
D
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male