title: Association of maternal anemia with increased wheeze and asthma in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasing interest has focused on maternal nutrition and micronutrient status during pregnancy and respiratory disease development in the offspring.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between maternal anemia in pregnancy with wheeze and asthma in early childhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cohort included children of women followed through pregnancy and recontacted when the child was 6 years of age to evaluate respiratory health. Exposure was assessed using maternal anemia diagnosis and hemoglobin (Hgb) < 11 during delivery hospitalization. Study outcomes include wheezing in early childhood; patterns of wheeze from birth to age 6 (early-onset transient wheeze; late-onset wheeze; early-onset persistent wheeze); and diagnosis of childhood asthma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal anemia was reported by 11.9% of mothers and was associated with recurrent infant wheeze in the first year (adjusted odds ratio [ORa] = 2.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18, 4.00), wheezing before age 3 (Ora = 2.42, 95% CI 1.38, 4.23), and early-onset transient and early-onset persistent wheeze patterns (Ora = 2.81, 95%CI 1.38, 5.72, and Ora = 2.07, 95% CI 1.02, 4.22), respectively. Among children of mothers with asthma, maternal anemia was associated with recurrent wheeze in year 1 (Ora = 4.22, 95% CI 1.65, 10.80) and wheeze before age 3 (Ora = 2.73, 95% CI 1.17, 6.35). Offspring of mothers with asthma also had increased odds of asthma diagnosis (Ora = 2.53, 95% CI 1.04, 6.17) and current asthma (Ora = 3.46, 95% CI 1.45, 8.26).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal anemia during pregnancy is associated with infant respiratory health outcomes. If this observation is replicated, maternal anemia may be a target for intervention and future research.
authors.affiliation: Brown University, Department of Community Health/Epidemiology, Providence, RI, USA. Elizabeth_triche@brown.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Triche
authors.forename: Lisbet S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Lundsberg
authors.forename: Paige G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Wickner
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Belanger
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Leaderer
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bracken
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications*; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology*