SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2006

11/14/06

Premature birth and subsequent risk for asthma

Summary
Background - Some, but not other, previous studies have suggested a subsequent increased risk of asthma in children born prematurely. Is there a reason for such inconsistent findings?

Findings - Jaakkola et al of the Univ of Birmingham in the UK analyzed MEDLINE search findings in studies of the occurrence of asthma in children born with a gestational age of <37 weeks (pre-term) vs 37 weeks (term). Overall, there was an increased risk for asthma in children previously born pre-term, with considerable heterogeneity among the studies. The increased risk for asthma was seen more in recent studies involving study of English-speaking populations outside of Europe. Increased asthma risk was also seen more in studies in which the children were analyzed for the occurrence of asthma at a younger age post-partum.

Reference
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2006;118:823-30

Editor's Comments
The authors of this report concluded that physiologic airflow obstruction in the less mature airways of the premature child might be a factor determining the risk for later asthma occurrence. However, there was no mention about the evaluation of factors such as a possible relation of maternal asthma (a factor strongly associated with increased risk for asthma in the child) and increased likelihood of premature births.

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