Early childhood weight status in relation to asthma development in high-risk children.
BACKGROUND
Obesity has been proposed to be a risk factor for the development of childhood asthma.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to examine weight status from birth to age 5 years in relation to the occurrence of asthma at ages 6 and 8 years.


METHODS
Two hundred eighty-five full-term high-risk newborns with at least 1 asthmatic/atopic parent enrolled in the Childhood Origin of Asthma project were studied from birth to age 8 years. Overweight was defined by weight-for-length percentiles of greater than the 85th percentile before the age of 2 years and a body mass index percentile of greater than the 85th percentile at ages 2 to 5 years.


RESULTS
No significant concurrent association was found between overweight status and wheezing/asthma occurrence at each year of age. In contrast, longitudinal analyses revealed complex relationships between being overweight and asthma. Being overweight at age 1 year was associated with a decreased risk of asthma at age 6 (odds ratio [OR], 0.32; P = .02) and 8 (OR, 0.35; P = .04) years, as well as better lung function. However, being overweight beyond infancy was not associated with asthma occurrence. In fact, only children who were overweight at age 5 years but not at age 1 year had an increased risk of asthma at age 6 years (OR, 5.78; P = .05).


CONCLUSIONS
In children genetically at high risk of asthma, being overweight at age 1 year was associated with a decreased risk of asthma and better lung function at ages 6 and 8 years. However, being overweight beyond infancy did not have any protective effect and even could confer a higher risk for asthma.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Madison, WI 53706-1562, USA. zhuminzhang@wisc.edu
Zhumin
Z
Zhang
Huichuan J
HJ
Lai
Kathy A
KA
Roberg
Ronald E
RE
Gangnon
Michael D
MD
Evans
Elizabeth L
EL
Anderson
Tressa E
TE
Pappas
Douglas F
DF
Dasilva
Christopher J
CJ
Tisler
Lisa P
LP
Salazar
James E
JE
Gern
Robert F
RF
Lemanske
D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012307:Risk Factors